THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST

By H. Rider Haggard

First Published 1894. 

DEDICATION

I DEDICATE THIS EFFORT OF"PRIMEVAL AND TROGLODYTE IMAGINATION"THIS RECORD OF BAREFACED AND FLAGRANT ADVENTURE

TO MY GODSONS

IN THE HOPE THAT THEREIN THEY MAY FINDSOME STORE OF HEALTHY AMUSEMENT. 

_Ditchingham_, 1894. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE

On several previous occasions it has happened to this writer of romanceto be justified of his romances by facts of startling similarity, subsequently brought to light and to his knowledge. In this tale occursan instance of the sort, a "double-barrelled" instance indeed, that tohim seems sufficiently curious to be worthy of telling. The People ofthe Mist of his adventure story worship a sacred crocodile to which theymake sacrifice, but in the original draft of the book this crocodile wasa snake--_monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens_. A friend of the writer, an African explorer of great experience who read that draft, suggestedthat the snake was altogether too unprecedented and impossible. Accordingly, also at his suggestion, a crocodile was substituted. Scarcely was this change effected, however, when Mr. R. T. Coryndon, theslayer of almost the last white rhinoceros, published in the _AfricanReview_ of February 17, 1894, an account of a huge and terrific serpentsaid to exist in the Dichwi district of Mashonaland, that in manyparticulars resembled the snake of the story, whose prototype, by theway, really lives and is adored as a divinity by certain natives in theremote province of Chiapas in Mexico. Still, the tale being in type, thealteration was suffered to stand. But now, if the _Zoutpansberg Review_may be believed, the author can take credit for his crocodile also, since that paper states that in the course of the recent campaignagainst Malaboch, a chief living in the north of the Transvaal, hisfetish or god was captured, and that god, a crocodile fashioned in wood, to which offerings were made. Further, this journal says that amongthese people (as with the ancient Egyptians), the worship of thecrocodile is a recognised cult. Also it congratulates the present writeron his intimate acquaintance with the more secret manifestations ofAfrican folklore and beast worship. He must disclaim the compliment inthis instance as, when engaged in inventing the 'People of the Mist, 'he was totally ignorant that any of the Bantu tribes reverenced eithersnake or crocodile divinities. But the coincidence is strange, and oncemore shows, if further examples of the fact are needed, how impotentare the efforts of imagination to vie with hidden truths--even with thehidden truths of this small and trodden world. 

_September_ 20, 1894. 

THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST

CHAPTER I

THE SINS OF THE FATHER ARE VISITED ON THE CHILDREN

The January afternoon was passing into night, the air was cold andstill, so still that not a single twig of the naked beech-trees stirred;on the grass of the meadows lay a thin white rime, half frost, halfsnow; the firs stood out blackly against a steel-hued sky, and over thetallest of them hung a single star. Past these bordering firs there rana road, on which, in this evening of the opening of our story, a youngman stood irresolute, glancing now to the right and now to the left. 

To his right were two stately gates of iron fantastically wrought, supported by stone pillars on whose summits stood griffins of blackmarble embracing coats of arms, and banners inscribed with the device_Per ardua ad astra_. Beyond these gates ran a broad carriage drive, lined on either side by a double row of such oaks as England alone canproduce under the most favourable circumstances of soil, aided by thenurturing hand of man and three or four centuries of time. 

At the head of this avenue, perhaps half a mile from the roadway, although it looked nearer because of the eminence upon which it wasplaced, stood a mansion of the class that in auctioneers' advertisementsis usually described as "noble. " Its general appearance was Elizabethan, for in those days some forgotten Outram had practically rebuilt it; buta large part of its fabric was far more ancient than the Tudors, dating back, so said tradition, to the time of King John. As we arenot auctioneers, however, it will be unnecessary to specify its manybeauties; indeed, at this date, some of the tribe had recently employedtheir gift of language on these attractions with copious fulness andaccuracy of detail, since Outram Hall, for the first time during sixcenturies, was, or had been, for sale. 

Suffice it to say that, like the oaks of its avenue, Outram was sucha house as can only be found in England; no mere mass of bricksand mortar, but a thing that seemed to have acquired a life andindividuality of its own. Or, if this saying be too far-fetched andpoetical, at the least this venerable home bore some stamp and traceof the lives and individualities of many generations of mankind, linkedtogether in thought and feeling by the common bond of blood. 

The young man who stood in the roadway looked long and earnestly towardsthe mass of buildings that frowned upon him from the crest of the hill, and as he looked an expression came into his face which fell little, ifat all, short of that of agony, the agony which the young can feel atthe shock of an utter and irredeemable loss. The face that wore suchevidence of trouble was a handsome one enough, though just now all thecharm of youth seemed to have faded from it. It was dark and strong, norwas it difficult to guess that in after-life it might become stern. Theform also was shapely and athletic, though not very tall, giving promiseof more than common strength, and the bearing that of a gentleman whohad not brought himself up to the belief that ancient blood can covermodern deficiencies of mind and manner. Such was the outward appearanceof Leonard Outram as he was then, in his twenty-third year. 

While Leonard watched and hesitated on the roadway, unable, apparently, to make up his mind to pass those iron gates, and yet desirous of doingso, carts and carriages began to appear hurrying down the avenue towardshim. 

"I suppose that the sale is over, " he muttered to himself. "Well, likedeath, it is a good thing to have done with. "

Then he turned to go; but hearing the crunch of wheels close at hand, stepped back into the shadow of the gateway pillar, fearing lest heshould be recognised on the open road. A carriage came up, and, just asit reached the gates, something being amiss with the harness, a footmandescended from the box to set it right. From where he stood Leonardcould see its occupants, the wife and daughter of a neighbouring squire, and overhear their conversation. He knew them well; indeed, the youngerlady had been one of his favourite partners at the county balls. 

"How cheap the things went, Ida! Fancy buying that old oak sideboard forten pounds, and with all those Outram quarterings on it too! It is asgood as an historical document, and I am sure that it must be worth atleast fifty. I shall sell ours and put it into the dining-room. I havecoveted that sideboard for years. "

The daughter sighed and answered with some asperity. 

"I am so sorry for the Outrams that I should not care about thesideboard if you had got it for twopence. What an awful smash! Justthink of the old place being bought by a Jew! Tom and Leonard areutterly ruined, they say, not a sixpence left. I declare I nearly criedwhen I saw that man selling Leonard's guns. "

"Very sad indeed, " answered the mother absently; "but if he is a Jew, what does it matter? He has a title, and they say that he is enormouslyrich. I expect there will be plenty going on at Outram soon. By the way, my dear Ida, I do wish you would cure yourself of the habit of callingyoung men by their Christian names--not that it matters about these two, for we shall never see any more of them. "

"I am sure I hope that we shall, " said Ida defiantly, "and when we doI shall call them by their Christian names as much as ever. You neverobjected to it before the smash, and I _love_ both of them, so there!Why did you bring me to that horrid sale? You know I did not want to go. I shall be wretched for a week, I----" and the carriage swept on out ofhearing. 

Leonard emerged from the shadow of the gateway and crossed the roadswiftly. On the further side of it he paused, and looking after theretreating carriage said aloud, "God bless you for your kind heart, IdaHatherley. Good luck go with you! And now for the other business. "

A hundred yards or so down the road, was a second gate of much lessimposing appearance than those which led to the Outram Hall. Leonardpassed through it and presently found himself at the door of a squarered brick house, built with no other pretensions than to those ofcomfort. This was the Rectory, now tenanted by the Reverend andHonourable James Beach, to whom the living had been presented many yearsbefore by Leonard's father, Mr. Beach's old college friend. 

Leonard rang the bell, and as its distant clamour fell upon his ears anew fear struck him. What sort of reception would he meet with in thishouse? he wondered. Hitherto his welcome had always been so cordial thatuntil this moment he had never doubted of it, but now circumstances werechanged. He was no longer in the position of second son to Sir ThomasOutram of Outram Hall. He was a beggar, an outcast, a wanderer, the sonof a fraudulent bankrupt and suicide. The careless words of the womanin the carriage had let a flood of light into his mind, and by it he sawmany things which he had never seen before. Now he remembered a littlemotto that he had often heard, but the full force of which he did notappreciate until to-day. "Friends follow fortune, " was the wording ofthis motto. He remembered also another saying that had frequently beenread to him in church and elsewhere, and the origin of which precludedall doubt as to its truth:--

"Unto every one that hath shall be given, but from him that hath notshall be taken away even that which he hath. "

Now, as it chanced, Leonard, beggared as he was, had still somethingleft which could be taken away from him, and that something the richestfortune which Providence can give to any man in his youth, the love ofa woman whom he also loved. The Reverend and Honourable James Beachwas blessed with a daughter, Jane by name, who had the reputation, notundeserved, of being the most beautiful and sweetest-natured girl thatthe country-side could show. Now, being dark and fair respectively andhaving lived in close association since childhood, Leonard and Jane, asmight be expected from the working of the laws of natural economy, hadgravitated towards each other with increasing speed ever since they hadcome to understand the possibilities of the institution of marriage. In the end thus mutual gravitation led to a shock and confusion ofindividualities which was not without its charm; or, to put the mattermore plainly, Leonard proposed to Jane and had been accepted with manyblushes and some tears and kisses. 

It was a common little romance enough, but, like everything else withwhich youth and love are concerned, it had its elements of beauty. Suchaffairs gain much from being the first in the series. Who is there amongus that does not adore his first love and his first poem? And yet whenwe see them twenty years after!

Presently the Rectory door was opened and Leonard entered. At thismoment it occurred to him that he did not quite know why he had come. Tobe altogether accurate, he knew why he had come well enough. It was tosee Jane, and arrive at an understanding with her father. Perhaps itmay be well to explain that his engagement to that young lady was of thesuppressed order. Her parents had no wish to suppress it, indeed; forthough Leonard was a younger son, it was well known that he was destinedto inherit his mother's fortune of fifty thousand pounds more or less. Besides, Providence had decreed a delicate constitution to his elder andonly brother Thomas. But Sir Thomas Outram, their father, was reputedto be an ambitious man who looked to see his sons marry well, and thismarriage would scarcely have been to Leonard's advantage from the familylawyer point of view. 

Therefore, when the matter came to the ears of Jane's parents, theydetermined to forego the outward expression of their pride and delightin the captive whom they owed to the bow and spear of their daughter'sloveliness, at any rate for a while, say until Leonard had taken hisdegree. Often and often in the after-years did they have occasion tobless themselves for their caution. But not the less on this account wasLeonard's position as the affianced lover of their daughter recognisedamong them; indeed, the matter was no secret from anybody, exceptperhaps from Sir Thomas himself. For his part, Leonard took no painsto conceal it even from him; but the father and son met rarely, and theestrangement between them was so complete, that the younger man saw noadvantage in speaking of a matter thus near to his heart until thereappeared to be a practical object in so doing. 

The Rev. James Beach was a stout person of bland and prepossessingappearance. Never had he looked stouter, more prepossessing, or blanderthan on this particular evening when Leonard was ushered into hispresence. He was standing before the fire in his drawing-room holding ahuge and ancient silver loving-cup in both hands, and in such a positionas to give the observer the idea that he had just drained its entirecontents. In reality, it may be explained, he was employed in searchingfor a hall-mark on the bottom of the goblet, discoursing the whileto his wife and children--for Jane had a brother--upon its value andbeauty. The gleam of the silver caught Leonard's eye as he enteredthe room, and he recognised the cup as one of the heirlooms of his ownfamily. 

Leonard's sudden and unlooked-for advent brought various emotions intoactive play. There were four people gathered round that comfortablefire--the rector, his wife, his son, and last, but not least, Janeherself. Mr. Beach dropped the cup sufficiently to allow himself tostare at his visitor along its length, for all the world as though hewere covering him with a silver blunderbuss. His wife, an active littlewoman, turned round as if she moved upon wires, exclaiming, "Goodgracious, who'd have thought it?" while the son, a robust young manof about Leonard's own age and his college companion, said "Hullo! oldfellow, well, I never expected to see _you_ here to-day!"--a remarkwhich, however natural it may have been, scarcely tended to set hisfriend at ease. 

Jane herself, a tall and beautiful girl with bright auburn hair, who wasseated on a footstool nursing her knees before the fire, and payingvery little heed to her father's lecture upon ancient plate, did none ofthese things. On the contrary, she sprang up with the utmost animation, her lips apart and her lovely face red with blushes, or the heat of thefire, and came towards him exclaiming, "Oh, Leonard, dear Leonard!"

Mr. Beach turned the silver blunderbuss upon his daughter and fired asingle, but most effective shot. 

"Jane!" he said in a voice in which fatherly admonition and friendlywarning were happily blended. 

Jane stopped in full career was though in obedience to some lesson whichmomentarily she had forgotten. Then Mr. Beach, setting down the flagon, advanced upon Leonard with an ample pitying smile and outstretched hand. 

"How are you, my dear boy, how are you?" he said. "We did not expect--"

"To see me here under the circumstances, " put in Leonard bitterly. "Norwould you have done so, but Tom and I understood that it was only to bea three days' sale. "

"Quite right, Leonard. As first advertised the sale was for three days, but the auctioneer found that he could not get through in the time. Theaccumulations of such an ancient house as Outram Hall are necessarily_vast_, " and he waved his hand with a large gesture. 

"Yes, " said Leonard. 

"Hum!" went on Mr. Beach, after a pause which was beginning to growawkward. "Doubtless you will find it a matter for congratulation that onthe whole things sold well. It is not always the case, not by anymeans, for such collections as those of Outram, however interesting andvaluable they may have been to the family itself, do not often fetchtheir worth at a country auction. Yes, they sold decidedly well, thankschiefly to the large purchases of the new owner of the estate. Thistankard, for instance, which I have bought--hem--as a slight memento ofyour family, cost me ten shillings an ounce. "

"Indeed!" answered Leonard coldly; "I always understood that it wasworth fifty. "

Then came another pause, during which all who were present, except Mr. Beach and himself, rose one by one and quitted the room. Jane was thelast to go, and Leonard noticed, as she passed him, that there weretears in her eyes. 

"Jane, " said her father in a meaning voice when her hand was already onthe door, "you will be careful to be dressed in time for dinner, willyou not, love? You remember that young Mr. Cohen is coming, and I shouldlike somebody to be down to receive him. "

Jane's only answer to this remark was to pass through the door and slamit behind her. Clearly the prospect of the advent of this guest was notagreeable to her. 

"Well, Leonard, " went on Mr. Beach when they were alone, in a tone thatwas meant to be sympathetic but which jarred horribly on his listener'sears, "this is a sad business, very sad. But why are you not sittingdown?"

"Because no one asked me to, " said Leonard as he took a chair. 

"Hem!" continued Mr. Beach; "by the way I believe that Mr. Cohen is afriend of yours, is he not?"

"An acquaintance, not a friend, " said Leonard. 

"Indeed, I thought that you were at the same college. "

"Yes, but I do not like him. "

"Prejudice, my dear boy, prejudice. A minor sin indeed, but one againstwhich you must struggle. But there, there, it is natural that you shouldnot feel warmly about the man who will one day own Outram. Ah! as Isaid, this is all very sad, but it must be a great consolation to you toremember that when everything is settled there will be enough, so I amtold, to pay your unhappy father's debts. And now, is there anythingthat I can do for you or your brother?"

Leonard reflected that whatever may have been his father's misdeeds, andthey were many and black, it should scarcely have lain in the mouth ofthe Rev. James Beach, who owed nearly everything he had in the world tohis kindness, to allude to them. But he could not defend his father'smemory, it was beyond defence, and just now he must fight for his ownhand. 

"Yes, Mr. Beach, " he said earnestly, "you can help me very much. Youknow the cruel position in which my brother and I are placed through nofault of our own: our old home is sold, our fortunes have gone utterly, and our honourable name is tarnished. At the present moment I havenothing left in the world except the sum of two hundred pounds whichI had saved for a purpose of my own out of my allowance. I have noprofession and cannot even take my degree, because I am unable to affordthe expense of remaining at college. "

"Black, I must say, very black, " murmured Mr. Beach, rubbing his chin. "But under these circumstances what can I do to help you? You must trustin Providence, my boy; it never fails the deserving. "

"This, " answered Leonard, nervously; "you can show your confidence inme by allowing my engagement to Jane to be proclaimed. " Here Mr. Beachwaved his hand once more as though to repel some invisible force. 

"One moment, " continued Leonard. "I know that it seems a great deal toask, but listen. Although everything looks so dark, I have reliance onmyself. With the stimulus which my affection for your daughter will giveme, and knowing that in order to win her I must first put myself in aposition to support her as she should be supported, I am quite convincedthat I shall be able to surmount all difficulties by my own efforts. "

"Really, I cannot listen to such nonsense any longer, " broke in Mr. Beach angrily. "Leonard, this is nothing less than an impertinence. Ofcourse any understanding that may have existed between you and Jane isquite at an end. Engagement! I heard of no engagement. I knew that therewas some boy and girl folly between you indeed, but for my part I nevergave the matter another thought. "

"You seem to forget, sir, " said Leonard, keeping his temper withdifficulty, "that not six months ago you and I had a long conversationon this very subject, and decided that nothing should be said to myfather of the matter until I had taken my degree. "

"I repeat that it is an impertinence, " answered Mr. Beach, but with acareful avoidance of the direct issue. "What! You, who have nothing inthe world except a name which you father has--well--tarnished--touse your own word, you ask me for my dear daughter's hand? You are soselfish that you wish not only to ruin her chances in life, but also todrag her into the depths of your poverty. Leonard, I should never havethought it of you!"

Then at last Leonard broke out. 

"You do not speak the truth. I did not ask you for your daughter's hand. I asked you for the promise of it when I should have shown myself worthyof her. But now there is an end of that. I will go as you bid me butbefore I go I will tell you the truth. You wish to use Jane's beauty tocatch this Jew with. Of her happiness you think nothing, provided onlyyou can secure his money. She is not a strong character, and it is quitepossible that you will succeed in your plot, but I tell you it will notprosper. You, who owe everything to our family, now when trouble hasovertaken us, turn upon me and rob me of the only good that was left tome. By putting an end to a connection of which everybody knew, you stampme still deeper into the mire. So be it, but of this I am sure, thatsuch conduct will meet with a due reward, and that a time will comewhen you will bitterly regret the way in which you have dealt with yourdaughter and treated me in my misfortunes. Good-bye. "

And Leonard turned and left the room and the Rectory. 

CHAPTER II

THE SWEARING OF THE OATH

Arthur Beach, Jane's brother, was standing in the hall waiting to speakto Leonard, but he passed without a word, closing the hall door behindhim. Outside snow was falling, though not fast enough to obscure thelight of the moon which shone through the belt of firs. 

Leonard walked on down the drive till he neared the gate, when suddenlyhe heard the muffled sound of feet pursuing him through the snow. Heturned with an exclamation, believing that the footsteps were thoseof Arthur Beach, for at the moment he was in no mood for furtherconversation with any male member of that family. As it chanced, however, he found himself face to face not with Arthur, but with Janeherself, who perhaps had never looked more beautiful than she did atthis moment in the snow and the moonlight. Indeed, whenever Leonardthought of her in after-years, and that was often, there arose inhis mind a vision of a tall and lovely girl, her auburn hair slightlypowdered over with the falling flakes, her breast heaving with emotion, and her wide grey eyes gazing piteously upon him. 

"Oh! Leonard, " she said nervously, "why do you go without sayinggood-bye to me?"

He looked at her awhile before he answered, for something in his hearttold him that this was the last sight which he should win of his lovefor many a year, and therefore his eyes dwelt upon her as we gaze uponone whom the grave is about to hide from us for ever. 

At last he spoke, and his words were practical enough. 

"You should not have come out in those thin shoes through the snow, Jane. You will catch cold. "

"I wish I could, " she answered defiantly, "I wish that I could catchsuch a cold as would kill me; then I should be out of my troubles. Letus go into the summer-house; they will never think of looking for methere. "

"How will you get there?" asked Leonard; "it is a hundred yards away, and the snow always drifts in that path. "

"Oh! never mind the snow, " she said. 

But Leonard did mind it, and presently he hit upon a solution of thedifficulty. Having first glanced up the drive to see that nobody wascoming, he bent forward and without explanation or excuse put his armsaround Jane, and lifting her as though she were a child, he bore herdown the path which led to the summer-house. She was heavy, but, soothto say, he could have wished the journey longer. Presently they werethere, and very gently he laid her on her feet again, kissing her uponthe lips as he did so. Then he took off his overcoat and wrapped itround her shoulders. 

All this while Jane had not spoken. Indeed, the poor girl felt so happyand so safe in her lover's arms that it seemed to her as though shenever wished to speak, or to do anything for herself again. It wasLeonard who broke the silence. 

"You ask me why I left without saying good-bye to you, Jane. It wasbecause your father has dismissed me from the house and forbidden me tohave any more to do with you. "

"Oh, why?" asked the girl, lifting her hands despairingly. 

"Can't you guess?" he answered with a bitter laugh. 

"Yes, Leonard, " she whispered, taking his hand in sympathy. 

"Perhaps I had better put it plainly, " said Leonard again; "it mayprevent misunderstandings. Your father has dismissed me because _my_father embezzled all my money. The sins of the father are visitedupon the children, you see. Also he has done this with more than usualdistinctness and alacrity, because he wishes you to marry young Mr. Cohen, the bullion-broker and the future owner of Outram. "

Jane shivered. 

"I know, I know, " she said, "and oh! Leonard, I hate him!"

"Then perhaps it will be as well not to marry him, " he answered. 

"I would rather die first, " she said with conviction. 

"Unfortunately one can't always die when it happens to be convenient, Jane. "

"Oh! Leonard, don't be horrid, " she said, beginning to cry. "Where areyou going, and what shall I do?"

"To the bad probably, " he answered. "At least it all depends upon you. Look here, Jane, if you will stick to me I will stick to you. The luckis against me now, but I have it in me to see that through. I love youand I would work myself to death for you; but at the best it must be aquestion of time, probably of years. "

"Oh! Leonard, indeed I will if I can. I am sure that you do not loveme more than I love you, but I can never make you understand how odiousthey all are to me about you, especially Papa. "

"Confound him!" said Leonard beneath his breath; and if Jane heard, atthat moment her filial affections were not sufficiently strong to induceher to remonstrate. 

"Well, Jane, " he went on, "the matter lies thus: either you must putup with their treatment or you must give me the go-by. Listen: in sixmonths you will be twenty-one, and in this country all her relations puttogether can't force a woman to marry a man if she does not wish to, orprevent her from marrying one whom she does wish to marry. Now you knowmy address at my club in town; letters sent there will always reach me, and it is scarcely possible for your father or anybody else to preventyou from writing and posting a letter. If you want my help or tocommunicate in any way, I shall expect to hear from you, and if need be, I will take you away and marry you the moment you come of age. If, onthe other hand, I do not hear from you, I shall know that it is becauseyou do not choose to write, or because that which you have to writewould be too painful for me to read. Do you understand, Jane?"

"Oh! yes, Leonard, but you put things so hardly. "

"Things have been put hardly enough to me, love, and I must beplain--this is my last chance of speaking to you. "

At this moment an ominous sound echoed through the night; it was noneother than the distant voice of Mr. Beach, calling from his front-doorstep, "Jane! Are you out there, Jane?"

"Oh! heavens!" she said, "there is my father calling me. I came outby the back door, but mother must have been up to my room and found megone. She watches me all day now. What _shall_ I do?"

"Go back and tell them that you have been saying good-bye to me. It isnot a crime; they cannot kill you for it. "

"Indeed they can, or just as bad, " replied Jane. Then suddenly she threwher arms about her lover's neck and burying her beautiful face uponhis breast, she began to sob bitterly, murmuring, "Oh my darling, mydarling, what shall I do without you?"

Over the brief and distressing scene which followed it may be well todrop a veil. Leonard's bitterness of mind forsook him now, and he kissedher and comforted her as he might best, even going so far as to minglehis tears with hers, tears of which he had no cause to be ashamed. Atlength she tore herself loose, for the shouts were growing louder andmore insistent. 

"I forgot, " she sobbed, "here is a farewell present for you; keep itin memory of me, Leonard, " and thrusting her hand into the bosom of herdress she drew from it a little packet which she gave to him. 

Then once more they kissed and clung together, and in another moment shehad vanished back into the snow and darkness, passing out of Leonard'ssight and out of his life, though from his mind she could never pass. 

"A farewell present. Keep it in memory of me. " The words yet echoed inhis ears, and to Leonard they seemed fateful--a prophecy of utter loss. Sighing heavily, he opened the packet and examined its contents by thefeeble moonlight. They were not large: a prayer-book bound in morocco, her own, with her name on the fly-leaf and a short inscription beneath, and in the pocket of its cover a lock of auburn hair tied round withsilk. 

"An unlucky gift, " said Leonard to himself; then putting on his coat, which was yet warm from Jane's shoulders, he also turned and vanishedinto the snow and the night, shaping his path towards the village inn. 

He reached it in due course, and passed into the little parlour thatadjoined the bar. It was a comfortable room enough, notwithstanding itsadornments of badly stuffed birds and fishes, and chiefly remarkable forits wide old-fashioned fireplace with wrought-iron dogs. There was nolamp in the room when Leonard entered, but the light of the burning woodwas bright, and by it he could see his brother seated in a high-backedchair gazing into the fire, his hand resting on his knee. 

Thomas Outram was Leonard's elder by two years and cast in a morefragile mould. His face was the face of a dreamer, the brown eyes werelarge and reflective, and the mouth sensitive as a child's. He was ascholar and a philosopher, a man of much desultory reading, with refinedtastes and a really intimate knowledge of Greek gems. 

"Is that you, Leonard?" he said, looking up absently; "where have youbeen?"

"To the Rectory, " answered his brother. 

"What have you been doing there?"

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes, of course. Did you see Jane?"

Then Leonard told him all the story. 

"What do you think she will do?" asked Tom when his brother hadfinished. "Given the situation and the woman, it is rather a curiousproblem. "

"It may be, " answered Leonard; "but as I am not an equation in algebrayearning to be worked out, I don't quite see the fun of it. But if youask me what I think she will do, I should say that she will follow theexample of everybody else and desert me. "

"You seem to have a poor idea of women, old fellow. I know little ofthem myself and don't want to know more. But I have always understoodthat it is the peculiar glory of their sex to come out strong on theseexceptional occasions. 'Woman in our hours of ease, ' etc. "

"Well, we shall see. But it is my opinion that women think a great dealmore of their own hours of ease than of those of anybody else. Thankheaven, here comes our dinner!"

Thus spoke Leonard, somewhat cynically and perhaps not in the best oftaste. But, his rejoicing over its appearance notwithstanding, he didnot do much justice to the dinner when it arrived. Indeed, it would becharitable to make allowances for this young man at that period of hislife. He had sustained a most terrible reverse, and do what he might hecould never quite escape from the shadow of his father's disgrace, or put out of his mind the stain with which his father had dimmed thehonour of his family. And now a new misfortune hung over him. He hadjust been driven with contumely from a house where hitherto he was themost welcome of guests; he had parted, moreover, from the woman whom heloved dearly, and under circumstances which made it doubtful if theirseparation would not be final. 

Leonard possessed the gift of insight into character, and more commonsense than can often be expected from a young man in love. He knew wellthat the chief characteristic of Jane's nature was a tendency to yieldto the circumstances of the hour, and though he hoped against hope, he could find no reason to suppose that she would exhibit greaterdetermination in the matter of their engagement than her general lackof strength might lead him to anticipate. Besides, and here his commonsense came in, would it be wise that she should do so? After all, what had he to offer her, and were not his hopes of future advancementnothing better than a dream? Roughly as he had put it, perhaps Mr. Beach was right when he told him that he, Leonard, was both selfish andimpertinent, since was it not a selfish impertinence in him to ask anywoman to link her fortune with his in the present state of his affairs?

Let us therefore make excuses for his words and outward behaviour, forat heart Leonard had much to trouble him. 

When the cloth had been cleared away and they were alone again, Tomspoke to his brother, who was moodily filling his pipe. 

"What shall we do to-night, Leonard?" he said. 

"Go to bed, I suppose, " he answered. 

"See here, Leonard, " said his brother again, "what do you say to havinga last look at the old place?"

"If you wish, Tom, but it will be painful. "

"A little pain more or less can scarcely hurt us, old fellow, " said Tom, laying his thin hand on his brother's shoulder. 

Then they started. A quarter of an hour's walking brought them to theHall. The snow had ceased falling now and the night was beautifullyclear, but before it ceased it had done a welcome office in hiding fromview all the litter and wreckage of the auction, which make the sceneof a recent sale one of the most desolate sights in the world. Never hadthe old house looked grander or more eloquent of the past than it did onthat night to the two brothers who were dispossessed of their heritage. They wandered round it in silence, gazing affectionately at eachwell-known tree and window, till at length they came to the gun-roomentrance. More from habit than for any other reason Leonard turned thehandle of the door. To his surprise it was open; after the confusion ofthe sale no one had remembered to lock it. 

"Let us go in, " he said. 

They entered and wandered from room to room till they reached thegreater hall, a vast and oak-roofed chamber built after the fashion ofthe nave of a church, and lighted by a large window of ecclesiasticaldesign. This window was filled with the armorial bearings of manygenerations of the Outram family, wrought in stained glass and placedin couples, for next to each coat of arms were the arms of its bearer'sdame. It was not quite full, however, for in it remained two blankshields, which had been destined to receive the escutcheons of ThomasOutram and his wife. 

"They will never be filled now, Leonard, " said Tom, pointing to these;"curious, isn't it, not to say sad?"

"Oh! I don't know, " answered his brother; "I suppose that the Cohensboast some sort of arms, or if not they can buy them. "

"I should think that they would have the good taste to begin a newwindow for themselves, " said Tom. 

Then he was silent for a while, and they watched the moonlight streamingthrough the painted window, the memorial of so much forgotten grandeur, and illumining the portraits of many a dead Outram that gazed upon themfrom the panelled walls. 

"_Per ardua ad astra_, " said Tom, absently reading the family mottowhich alternated pretty regularly with a second device that some membersof it had adopted--"For Heart, Home, and Honour. "

"'_Per ardua ad astra_'--through struggle to the stars--and 'For Heart, Home, and Honour, '" repeated Tom; "well, I think that our family neverneeded such consolations more, if indeed there are any to be found inmottoes. Our Heart is broken, our hearth is desolate, and our honour isa byword, but there remain the 'struggle and the stars. '"

As he spoke his face took the fire of a new enthusiasm: "Leonard, "he went on, "why should not we retrieve the past? Let us take thatmotto--the more ancient one--for an omen, and let us fulfil it. Ibelieve it is a good omen, I believe that one of us will fulfil it. "

"We can try, " answered Leonard. "If we fail in the struggle, at leastthe stars remain for us as for all human kind. "

"Leonard, " said his brother almost in a whisper, "will you swear an oathwith me? It seems childish, but I think that under some circumstancesthere is wisdom even in childishness. "

"What oath?" asked Leonard. 

"This; that we will leave England and seek fortune in some foreignland--sufficient fortune to enable us to repurchase our lost home; thatwe will never return here until we have won this fortune; and that deathalone shall put a stop to our quest. "

Leonard hesitated a moment, then answered:

"If Jane fails me, I will swear it. "

Tom glanced round as though in search of some familiar object, andpresently his eye fell upon what he sought. A great proportion of thefurniture of the old house, including the family portraits, had beenpurchased by the in-coming owner. Among the articles which remained wasa very valuable and ancient bible, one of the first ever printed indeed, that stood upon an oaken stand in the centre of the hall, to which itwas securely chained. Tom led the way to this bible, followed by hisbrother. Then they placed their hands upon it, and standing there in theshadow, the elder of them spoke aloud in a voice that left no doubt ofthe earnestness of his purpose, or of his belief in their mission. 

"We swear, " he said, "upon this book and before the God who made us thatwe will leave this home that was ours, and never look upon it again tillwe can call it ours once more. We swear that we will follow this, thepurpose of our lives, till death destroys us and it; and may shame andutter ruin overtake us if, while we have strength and reason, we turnour backs upon this oath! So help us God!"

"So help us God!" repeated Leonard. 

Thus in the home of their ancestors, in the presence of their Maker, andof the pictured dead who had gone before them, did Thomas and LeonardOutram devote their lives to this great purpose. Perhaps, as one of themhad said, the thing was childish, but if so, at the least it was solemnand touching. Their cause seemed hopeless indeed; but if faith can movemountains, much more can honest endeavour attain its ends. In that hourthey felt this. Yes, they believed that the end would be attained by oneof them, though they guessed little what struggles lay between themand the Star they hoped to gain, or how strangely they should be bornethither. 

On the morrow they went to London and waited there a while, but no wordcame from Jane Beach, and for good or ill the chains of the oath that hehad taken riveted themselves around Leonard Outram's neck. 

Within three months of this night the brothers were nearing the shoresof Africa, the land of the Children of the Mist. 

CHAPTER III

AFTER SEVEN YEARS

"What is the time, Leonard?"

"Eleven o'clock, Tom. "

"Eleven--already? I shall go at dawn, Leonard. You remember Johnstondied at dawn, and so did Askew. "

"For heaven's sake don't speak like that, Tom! If you think you aregoing to die, you will die. "

The sick man laughed a ghost of a laugh--it was half a death-rattle. 

"It is no use talking, Leonard; I feel my life flaring and sinking likea dying fire. My mind is quite clear now, but I shall die at dawn forall that. The fever has burnt me up! Have I been raving, Leonard?"

"A little, old fellow, " answered Leonard. 

"What about?"

"Home mostly, Tom. "

"Home! We have none, Leonard; it is sold. How long have we been awaynow?"

"Seven years. "

"Seven years! Yes. Do you remember how we said good-bye to the old placeon that winter night after the auction? And do you remember what weresolved?"

"Yes. "

"Repeat it. "

"We swore that we would seek wealth enough to buy Outram back till wewon it or died, and that we would never return to England till it waswon. Then we sailed for Africa. For seven years we have sought and doneno more than earn a livelihood, much less a couple of hundred thousandpounds or so. "

"Leonard. "

"Yes, Tom?"

"You are sole heir to our oath now, and to the old name with it, or youwill be in a few hours. I have fulfilled my vow. I have sought till Idied. You will take up the quest till you succeed or die. The strugglehas been mine, may you live to win the Star. You will persevere, willyou not, Leonard?"

"Yes, Tom, I will. "

"Give me your hand on it, old fellow. "

Leonard Outram knelt down beside his dying brother, and they claspedeach other's hands. 

"Now let me sleep awhile. I am tired. Do not be afraid, I shall wakebefore the--end. "

Hardly had the words passed his lips when his eyes closed and he sankinto stupor or sleep. 

His brother Leonard sat down upon a rude seat, improvised out of anempty gin-case. Without the tempest shrieked and howled, the greatwind shook the Kaffir hut of grass and wattle, piercing it in a hundredplaces till the light of the lantern wavered within its glass, andthe sick man's hair was lifted from his clammy brow. From time totime fierce squalls of rain fell like sheets of spray, and the water, penetrating the roof of grass, streamed to the earthen floor. Leonardcrept on his hands and knees to the doorway of the hut, or rather to thelow arched opening which served as a doorway, and, removing the boardthat secured it, looked out at the night. Their hut stood upon the ridgeof a great mountain; below was a sea of bush, and around it rose thefantastic shapes of other mountains. Black clouds drove across the dyingmoon, but occasionally she peeped out and showed the scene in all itsvast solemnity and appalling solitude. 

Presently Leonard closed the opening of the doorway, and going back tohis brother's side he gazed upon him earnestly. Many years of toil andprivation had not robbed Thomas Outram's face of its singular beauty, orfound power to mar its refinement. But death was written on it. 

Leonard sighed, then, struck by a sudden thought, sought for and found ascrap of looking-glass. Holding it close to the light of the lantern, he examined the reflection of his own features. The glass mirrored ahandsome bearded man, dark, keen-eyed like one who is always on thewatch for danger, curly-haired and broad-shouldered; not very tall, buthaving massive limbs and a form which showed strength in every movement. Though he was still young, there was little of youth left about the man;clearly toil and struggle had done an evil work with him, ageing hismind and hardening it as they had hardened the strength and vigour ofhis body. The face was a good one, but most men would have preferredto see friendship shining in those piercing black eyes rather than thelight of enmity. Leonard was a bad enemy, and his long striving with theworld sometimes led him to expect foes where they did not exist. 

Even now this thought was in his mind: "He is dying, " he said tohimself, as he laid down the glass with the care of a man who cannotafford to hazard a belonging however trivial, "and yet his face isnot so changed as mine is. My God! he is dying! My brother--the onlyman--the only living creature I love in the world, except one perhaps, if indeed I love her still. Everything is against us--I should sayagainst me now, for I cannot count him. Our father was our first enemy;he brought us into the world, neglected us, squandered our patrimony, dishonoured our name, and shot himself. And since then what has it beenbut one continual fight against men and nature? Even the rocks in whichI dig for gold are foes--victorious foes--" and he glanced at his hands, scarred and made unshapely by labour. "And the fever, that is a foe. Death is the only friend, but he won't shake hands with me. He takes mybrother whom I love as he has taken the others, but me he leaves. "

Thus mused Leonard sitting sullenly on the red box, his elbow on hisknee, his rough hands held beneath his chin pushing forward the thickblack beard till it threw a huge shadow, angular and unnatural, on tothe wall of the hut, while without the tempest now raved, now lulled, and now raved again. An hour--two--passed and still he sat not moving, watching the face of the fever-stricken man that from time to timeflushed and was troubled, then grew pale and still. It seemed to himas though by some strange harmony of nature the death-smitten blood wasstriving to keep pace with the beat of the storm, knowing that presentlylife and storm would pass together into the same domain of silence. 

At length Tom Outram opened his eyes and looked at him, but Leonard knewthat he did not see him as he was. The dying eyes studied him indeed andwere intelligent, but he could feel that they read something on hisface that was not known to himself, nor could be visible to any otherman--read it as though it were a writing. 

So strange was this scrutiny, so meaningless and yet so full of ameaning which he could not grasp, that Leonard shrank beneath it. Hespoke to his brother, but no answer came, --only the great hollow eyesread on in that book which was printed upon his face; that book, sealedto him, but to the dying man an open writing. 

The sight of the act of death is always terrible; it is terrible towatch the latest wax and ebb of life, and with the intelligence tocomprehend that these flickerings, this coming and this going, thesesinkings and these last recoveries are the trial flights of theanimating and eternal principle--call it soul or what you will--beforeit trusts itself afar. Still more terrible is it under circumstances ofphysical and mental desolation such as those present to Leonard Outramin that hour. 

But he had looked on death before, on death in many dreadful shapes, andyet he had never been so much afraid. What was it that his brother, or the spirit of his brother, read in his face? What learning had hegathered in that sleep of his, the last before the last? He could nottell--now he longed to know, now he was glad not to know, and now hestrove to overcome his fears. 

"My nerves are shattered, " he said to himself. "He is dying. How shall Ibear to see him die?"

A gust of wind shook the hut, rending the thatch apart, and through therent a little jet of rain fell upon his brother's forehead and ran downhis pallid cheeks like tears. Then the strange understanding look passedfrom the wide eyes, and once more they became human, and the lips wereopened. 

"Water, " they murmured. 

Leonard gave him to drink, with one hand holding the pannikin to hisbrother's mouth and with the other supporting the dying head. Twice hegulped at it, then with a brusque motion of his wasted arm he knockedthe cup aside, spilling the water on the earthen floor. 

"Leonard, " he said, "you will succeed. "

"Succeed in what, Tom?"

"You will get the money and Outram--and found the family afresh--but youwill not do it alone. _A woman will help you_. "

Then his mind wandered a little and he muttered, "How is Jane? Have youheard from Jane?" or some such words. 

At the mention of this name Leonard's face softened, then once more grewhard and anxious. 

"I have not heard of Jane for years, old fellow, " he said; "probably sheis dead or married. But I do not understand. "

"Don't waste time, Leonard, " Tom answered, rousing himself from hislethargy. "Listen to me. I am going fast. You know dying men seefar--sometimes. I dreamed it, or I read it in your face. I tellyou--_you_ will die at Outram. Stay here a while after I am dead. Stay awhile, Leonard!"

He sank back exhausted, and at that moment a gust of wind, fiercer thanany which had gone before, leapt down the mountain gorges, howling withall the voices of the storm. It caught the frail hut and shook it. Acobra hidden in the thick thatch awoke from its lethargy and fell witha soft thud to the floor not a foot from the face of the dying man--thenerected itself and hissed aloud with flickering tongue and head swollenby rage. Leonard started back and seized a crowbar which stood near, butbefore he could strike, the reptile sank down and, drawing its shiningshape across his brother's forehead, once more vanished into the thatch. 

His eyes did not so much as close, though Leonard saw a momentaryreflection of the bright scales in the dilated pupils and shivered atthis added terror, shivered as though his own flesh had shrunk beneaththe touch of those deadly coils. It was horrible that the snake shouldcreep across his brother's face, it was still more horrible that hisbrother, yet living, should not understand the horror. It caused him toremember our invisible companion, that ancient enemy of mankind of whomthe reptile is an accepted type; it made him think of that long sleepwhich the touch of such as this has no power to stir. 

Ah! now he was going--it was impossible to mistake that change, the lastquick quiver of the blood, followed by an ashen pallor, and the sobof the breath slowly lessening into silence. So the day had died lastnight, with a little purpling of the sky--a little sobbing of thewind--then ashen nothingness and silence. But the silence was broken, the night had grown alive indeed--and with a fearful life. Hark! how thestorm yelled! those blasts told of torment, that rain beat like tears. What if his brother----He did not dare to follow the thought home. 

Hark! how the storm yelled!--the very hut wrenched at its strongsupports as though the hands of a hundred savage foes were dragging it. It lifted--by heaven it was gone!--gone, crashing down the rocks on thelast hurricane blast of the tempest, and there above them lowered thesullen blue of the passing night flecked with scudding clouds, and therein front of them, to the east and between the mountains, flared thesplendours of the dawn. 

Something had struck Leonard heavily, so heavily that the blood ran downhis face; he did not heed it, he scarcely felt it; he only clasped hisbrother in his arms and, for the first time for many years, he kissedhim on the brow, staining it with the blood from his wound. 

The dying man looked up. He saw the glory in the East. Now it ran alongthe mountain sides, now it burned upon their summits, to each summit apillar of flame, a peculiar splendour of its own diversely shaped; andnow the shapes of fire leaped from earth to heaven, peopling the skywith light. The dull clouds caught the light, but they could not hold itall: back it fell to earth again, and the forests lifted up their armsto greet it, and it shone upon the face of the waters. 

Thomas Outram saw--and staggering to his knees he stretched out his armstowards the rising sun, muttering with his lips. 

Then he sank upon Leonard's breast, and presently all his story wastold. 

CHAPTER IV

THE LAST VIGIL

For a while Leonard sat by the body of his brother. The daylight grewand gathered about him, the round ball of the sun appeared above themountains. 

The storm was gone. Were it not for some broken fragments of thevanished hut, it would have been difficult to know even that it hadbeen. Insects began to chirrup, lizards ran from the crevices of therocks, yonder the rain-washed bud of a mountain lily opened before hiseyes. Still Leonard sat on, his face stony with grief, till at lengtha shadow fell upon him from above. He looked up--it was cast by avulture's wings, as they hurried to the place of death. 

Grasping his loaded rifle Leonard sprang to his feet. Nearer and nearercame the bird, wheeling above him in lessening circles: it forgot thepresence of the living in its desire for the dead. Leonard lifted therifle, aimed and fired. The report rang out clearly on the silent air, and was echoed from krantz and kloof and mountain side, and from aboveanswered the thud of the bullet. For a moment the smitten bird swayedupon its wide pinions, then they seemed to crumple beneath its weight, and it fell heavily and lay flapping and striking at the stones with itsstrong beak. 

"I also can kill, " said Leonard to himself as he watched it die. "Killtill you are killed--that is the law of life. " Then he turned to thebody of his brother and made it ready for burial as best he might, closing the eyes, tying up the chin with a band of twisted grass, andfolding the thin toil-worn hands upon the quiet heart. 

When all was finished he paused from his dreadful task, and a thoughtstruck him. 

"Where are those Kaffirs?" he said aloud--the sound of his voice seemedto dull the edge of solitude--"the lazy hounds, they ought to have beenup an hour ago. Hi! Otter, Otter!"

The mountains echoed "Otter, Otter;" there was no other reply. Again heshouted without result. "I don't like to leave it, " he said, "but I mustgo and see;" and, having covered the body with a red blanket to scareaway the vultures, he started at a run round some projecting rocks thatbordered the little plateau on which the hut had stood. Beyond them theplateau continued, and some fifty paces from the rocks was a hollow inthe mountain side, where a softer vein of stone had been eaten away bycenturies of weather. 

It was here that the Kaffirs slept--four of them--and in front of thiscave or grotto it was their custom to make a fire for cooking. But onthat morning no fire was burning, and no Kaffirs were to be seen. 

"Still asleep, " was Leonard's comment as he strode swiftly towardsthe cave. In another moment he was in it shouting "Otter, Otter!" andsaluting with a vigorous kick a prostrate form, of which he could justsee the outline. The form did not move, which was strange, for sucha kick should have suffered to wake even the laziest Basuto from hissoundest sleep. Leonard stopped to examine it, and the next momentstarted back violently, exclaiming:

"Great heavens! it is Cheat, and he is dead. "

At this moment a thick voice spoke from the corner of the cave in Dutch, the voice of Otter:

"I am here, Baas, but I am tied: the Baas must loosen me, I cannotstir. "

Leonard advanced, striking a match as he came. Presently it burned up, and he saw the man Otter lying on his back, his legs and arms boundfirmly with rimpis of hide, his face and body a mass of contusions. Drawing his hunting-knife Leonard cut the rimpis and brought the manfrom out the cave, carrying rather than leading him. 

Otter was a knob-nosed Kaffir, that is of the Bastard Zulu race. The brothers had found him wandering about the country in a state ofsemi-starvation, and he had served them faithfully for some years. They had christened him Otter, his native patronymic being quiteunpronounceable, because of his extraordinary skill in swimming, whichalmost equalled that of the animal after which he was named. 

In face the man was hideous, though his ugliness was not unpleasant, being due chiefly to a great development of his tribal feature, thenose, and in body he was misshapen to the verge of monstrosity. In factOtter was a dwarf, measuring little more than four feet in height. Butwhat he lacked in height he made up in breadth; it almost seemed asthough, intended by nature to be a man of many inches, he had beencompressed to his present dimensions by art. His vast chest and limbs, indicating strength nearly superhuman, his long iron arms and massivehead, all gave colour to this idea. Otter had one redeeming feature, however--his eyes, that when visible, which at this moment was not thecase, were large, steady, and, like his skin, of a brilliant black. 

"What has happened?" said Leonard, also speaking in Dutch. 

"This, Baas! Last night those three Basuto villains, your servants, madeup their minds to desert. They told me nothing, and they were so cunningthat, though I watched even their thoughts, I never guessed. They knewbetter than to tell me, for I would have beaten them--yes, all! So theywaited till I was sound asleep, then came behind me, the three of them, and tied me fast that I should not hinder them and that they might takeaway Baas Tom's gun which you lent me, and other things. Soon I foundout their plans, and though I laughed in their faces, oh! my heart wasblack with rage. 

"When the Basuto dogs had tied me they mocked me, calling me foulnames and saying that I might stop and starve with the white fools, my masters, who always dug for yellow iron and found so little, beingfools. Then they got together everything of value, yes, down to thekettle, and made ready to go, and each of them came and slapped me onthe face, and one burnt me here upon the nose with a hot brand. 

"All this I bore as a man must bear trouble which comes from the skies, but when Cheat took up Baas Tom's gun and the others came with a reimto tie me to the rock, I could bear it no more. So I shouted aloud anddrove at Cheat, who held the gun. Ah! they had forgotten that if my armsare strong, my head is stronger! Butting like a bull I caught him fairin the middle, and his back was against the side of the cave. He madeone noise, no more; he will never make another noise, for my headsmashed him up inside and the rock hurt me through him. Then the othertwo hit me with kerries--great blows--and my arms being tied I could notdefend myself, though I knew that they would soon kill me; so I groanedand dropped down, pretending to be dead--just like a stink-cat. 

"At last, thinking that they had finished me, the Basutos ran away in agreat hurry, for they feared lest you might hear the shouting and shouldcome after them with rifles. They were so much afraid that they left thegun and most of the other things. After that I fainted; it was silly, but those kerries of theirs are of rhinoceros horn--I should not haveminded so much had they been of wood, but the horn bites deep. That isall the story. It will please Baas Tom to know that I saved his gun. When he hears it he will forget his sickness and say 'Well done Otter!Ha! Otter, your head is hard. '"

"Make your heart hard also, " said Leonard with a sad smile; "Baas Tom isdead. He died at daybreak in my arms. The fever killed him as it killedthe other _Inkoosis_ (chiefs). "

Otter heard, and, letting his bruised head fall upon his mighty chest, remained for a while in silence. At length he lifted it, and Leonard sawtwo tears wandering down the battered countenance. "_Wow_, " he said, "isit so? Oh! my father, are you dead, you who were brave like a lion andgentle as a girl? Yes, you are dead, my ears have heard it, and were itnot for your brother, the Baas Leonard, I think that I would kill myselfand follow you. _Wow_, my father, are you indeed dead, who smiled uponme yesterday?"

"Come, " said Leonard; "I dare not leave him long. "

And he went, Otter following him with a reeling gait, for he was weakfrom his injuries. Presently they reached the spot, and Otter saw thatthe hut was gone. 

"Certainly, " he said, "our bad spirits were abroad last night. Well, next time it will be the turn of the good ones. " Then he drew near tothe corpse and saluted it with uplifted hand and voice. 

"Chief and Father, " he said in Zulu, for Otter had wandered long andknew many tongues, but he loved the Zulu best of all. "While you livedupon earth, you were a good man and brave, though somewhat quick oftemper and quarrelsome like a woman. Now you have wearied of this worldand flown away like an eagle towards the sun, and there where you livein the light of the sun you will be braver and better yet, and becomemore patient and not quarrel any more with those who are less cleverthan you. Chief and Father, I salute you! May he whom you named theOtter serve you and the _Inkoosi_ your brother once more in the Houseof the Great-Great, if one so ugly and misshapen can enter there. As forthe Basuto dog whom I slew and who would have stolen your gun, I seenow that I killed him in a fortunate hour, that he might be the slavebeneath your feet in the House of the Great-Great. Ah! had I known, I would have sent a better man, for there as here Cheat will still beCheat. Hail, my father! Hail and farewell! Let your spirit watch over usand be gentle towards us, who love you yet. "

And Otter turned away without further ado; and having washed his wounds, he set himself to the task of preparing such coarse food as they had instore. 

When it was ready Leonard ate of it, and after he had finished eating, together they bore the body to the little cave for shelter. It wasLeonard's purpose to bury his brother at sundown; he might not delaylonger, but till then he would watch by him, keeping the last of manyvigils. So all that remained of the Basuto Cheat having been draggedforth and thrust unceremoniously into an ant-bear hole by Otter, whowhile he disposed of the body did not spare to taunt the spirit of hislate treacherous foe, the corpse of Thomas Outram was laid in its place, and Leonard sat himself by its side in the gloom of the cave. 

About midday Otter, who had been sleeping off his sorrows, physical andmental, came into the cavern. They were short of meat, he said, and withthe leave of the Baas he would take the gun of the dead Baas and try toshoot a buck. 

Leonard bade him go, but to be back by sundown, as he should require hishelp. 

"Where shall we dig a hole, Baas?" asked the dwarf. 

"One is dug, " answered Leonard; "he who is dead dug it himself as theothers did. We will bury him in the last pit he made looking for gold, to the right of where the hut stood. It is deep and ready. "

"Yes, Baas, a good place--though perhaps Baas Tom would not have workedat it so strongly had he known. _Wow!_ Who knows to what end he labours?But perchance it is a little near the donga. Twice that hole has beenflooded while Baas Tom was digging in it. Then he would jump out, butnow----"

"I have settled it, " said Leonard shortly; "go, and be back half an hourbefore sundown at latest. Stop! Bring some of those rock-lilies if youcan. The Baas was fond of them. "

The dwarf saluted and went. "Ah!" he said to himself as he waddled downthe hill where he hoped to find game, "ah! you do not fear men dead orliving--overmuch; yet, Otter, it is true that you are better here inthe sun, though the sun is hot, than yonder in the cave. Say, Otter, whydoes Baas Tom look so awful now that he is dead--he who was so gentlewhile yet he lived? Cheat did not look awful, only uglier. But then youkilled Cheat, and the Heavens killed Baas Tom and set their own sealupon him. And what will Baas Leonard do now that his brother is dead andthe Basutos have run away? Go on digging for the yellow iron which isso hard to find, and of which, when it is found, no man can even make aspear? Nay, what is that to you, Otter? What the Baas does you do--andhere be the spoor of an impala buck. "

Otter was right. The day was fearfully hot. It was summer in EastAfrica, or rather autumn, the season of fever, thunder and rain, a timethat none who valued their lives would care to spend in those latitudessearching for gold with poor food and but little shelter. But men whoseek their fortunes are not chary of hazarding their own lives ofthose of others. They become fatalists, not avowedly perhaps, butunconsciously. Those who are destined to die must die, they think, theothers will live. And, after all, it does not greatly matter which theydo, for, as they know well, the world will never miss them. 

When Leonard Outram, his brother, and two companions in adventure heardfrom the natives that at a particular spot on the mountains, nominallyin the Portuguese territory near the lowest branch of the Zambesi, goldcould be dug out like iron ore, and when, at the price of two Towermuskets and a half-bred greyhound, they received a concession from theactual chief of that territory to dig up and possess the gold withoutlet or hindrance from any person whatsoever, they did not postpone theirundertaking because the country was fever-stricken and the unhealthyseason drew on. In the first place, their resources were not great atthe moment; and in the second, they feared lest some other enterprisingperson with three Tower muskets and two grey-hounds should persuade thechief to rescind their concession in his favour. 

So they journeyed laboriously to the place of hidden wealth, and withthe help of such native labour as they could gather began their search. At first they were moderately successful; indeed, wherever they dugthey found "colour, " and once or twice stumbled upon pockets ofnuggets. Their hopes ran high, but presently one of the four--Askew byname--sickened and died of fever. They buried him and persevered withvarying luck. Then a second member of their party, Johnston, was takenill. He lingered for a month and died also. 

After this Leonard was for abandoning the enterprise, but, as fate wouldhave it, on the day following Johnston's death they found gold in verypromising quantities, and his brother, whose desire to win the wealthnecessary was only increased by many disappointments, would not listento such advice. 

So they rebuilt the hut on a higher and healthier spot and stayed. Buton one unfortunate day Thomas Outram went out shooting, and losing hispath in the bush was forced to spend a night in the fever-fog. Aweek afterwards he complained of sickness and pains in the back andhead--three weeks later he died as we have seen. 

All these events and many others antecedent passed through Leonard'smind as he wore out the long hours seated by the side of his deadbrother. Never before had he felt so lonely, so utterly desolate, sobankrupt of all love and hope. It was a fact that at this moment he hadno friend in the wide world, unless he could call the knob-nosed nativeOtter a friend. He had been many years away from England, his fewdistant relations there troubled themselves no more about him or hisbrother, outcasts, wanderers in strange lands, and his school andcollege companions in all probability had forgotten his existence. 

There was one indeed, Jane Beach. But since that night of parting, sevenyears ago, he had heard nothing of her. Twice he had written, but noanswer came to his letters. Then he gave up writing, for Leonard was aproud man; moreover he guessed that she did not reply because she couldnot. As he had said to his brother, Jane might be dead by now, or moreprobably married to Mr. Cohen. And yet once they had loved each other, and to this hour he still loved her, or thought that he did. At least, through all the weary years of exile, labour, and unceasing search afterthe unattainable, her image and memory had been with him, a distantdream of sweetness, peace, and beauty, and they were with him yet, though nothing of her remained to him except the parting gift of herprayer-book and the lock of hair within it. The wilderness is nota place where men can forget their earliest love. No, he was alone, absolutely and utterly alone, a wanderer in wild lands, a sojourner withrough unlettered men and savages. 

And now, what should he do? This place was played out. There wasalluvial gold indeed, but Leonard knew to-day that it was not in theearth, but in the veins of quartz which permeated the mountains, thatthe real wealth must be sought for, and how could he extract it from thequartz without machinery or capital? Besides, his Kaffir servants haddeserted him, worn out with hard work and fever, and there wereno others to be had at this season. Well, it was only one moredisappointment; he must go back to Natal and take his chance. At theworst he could always earn his living as a transport-rider, and at thebest he wearied of this search for wealth which was to build up theirfamily afresh. 

Then of a sudden Leonard remembered what he had promised--to go onseeking till he died. Very good, he would keep the promise--till hedied. And he remembered also that curious prophecy to which Thomas hadgiven utterance on the previous night, that prophecy of wealth whichshould come to him. 

Of course it was nothing but the distraught fancy of a dying man. Formany years his brother had brooded over this possibility of gainingriches, not for their own sake indeed, but that it might be the meansof restoring the ancient family, which their father had brought to shameand ruin. It was not wonderful in a man of his excitable temperamentthat at the hour of his death he should have grasped at some vision ofattainment of the object of his life, though by the hand of another. And yet how strangely he had looked at him! With what conviction he hadspoken! But all this was beside the point; he, Leonard, had sworn anoath many years ago, and only last night he had promised to continue toobserve that oath. Therefore, come good or ill, he must pursue it to theend. 

Thus he mused till he grew weary as he sat hour after hour by the sideof that rigid thing, which had been his playmate, his brother, and hisfriend. From time to time he rose and walked about the cave. As theafternoon waned the air grew hotter and stiller, while a great cloudgathered on the horizon. 

"There will be thunder at sundown, " said Leonard aloud; "I wish thatOtter would come back, so that we might get the funeral over; otherwisewe shall have to wait till to-morrow. "

At length, about half an hour before nightfall, the dwarf appeared atthe mouth of the cave, looking more like a gnome than a man against thelurid background of the angry sky. A buck was tied across his enormousshoulders, and in his hand he held a large bunch of the fragrantmountain lilies. 

Then the two of them buried Thomas Outram, there in his lonely gravewhich he himself had dug by the gully, and the roll of the thunder washis requiem. It seemed a fitting termination to his stormy and laboriouslife. 

CHAPTER V

OTTER GIVES COUNSEL

When the burial was finished and Thomas Outram slept his last sleepbeneath six feet of earth and stones, his brother took out theprayer-book that Jane Beach had given him, which in truth formed all hislibrary, and read the funeral service over the grave, ending it by theglare of the lightning flashes. Then he and Otter went back to the caveand ate, speaking no word. After they had done their meal Leonard calledto the dwarf, who took his food at a little distance. 

"Otter, " he said, setting the lantern between them, "you are a faithfulman and clever in your way. I would tell you a story and ask yousomething. At the least, " he added to himself in English, "in such amatter your judgment is as good as mine. "

"Speak on, Baas, " said the dwarf; "my ears are open;" and he squatteddown on the further side of the lantern like some great toad, watchinghis master's face with his black eyes. 

"Otter, the Baas who is dead and I journeyed to this country about sevenyears ago. Before we came here we had been rich men, chiefs in our ownplace, but we lost our kraals and cattle and lands; they were sold, others took them and we became poor. Yes, we who were fat grew lean astrek oxen at the end of winter. Then we said to each other, 'Here wehave no longer any home, the shame of poverty has come upon us, we arebroken vessels, empty men of no account; also we are chiefs by blood, and here we cannot let ourselves out to labour like the common people, lest both the common people and the nobles should make a mock of us. Ourgreat stone kraal that has been ours for many generations is taken fromus, others dwell in it, strange women order it, and their children shallmove about the land. We will go away. '"

"The blood is the blood, " broke in Otter, "the wealth is nothing; thatcomes and goes, but the blood is always the blood. Why did you notgather an impi, my father, and put these strangers to the spear and takeyour kraal again?"

"In our land this may not be, Otter, for there wealth is more than race. So we should have been brought to still greater shame. Riches alonecould give us back our home, and we had none left. Therefore we sworean oath together, the dead Baas and I, that we would journey to thisfar country and seek to win wealth that we might buy back our lands andkraal and rule over them as in past years, and our children after us. "

"A good oath, " said Otter, "but here we should have sworn it otherwise, and there would have been a ringing of steel about that kraal, not thechink of yellow iron. "

"We came, Otter, and for seven years we have laboured harder than thelowest of our servants; we have travelled to and fro, mixing with manypeoples, learning many tongues, and what have we found? The Baas yondera grave in the wilderness--I the food that the wilderness gives, nomore. "

"A poor wage so far, " said Otter. "Ah! the ways of my people are moresimple and better. A red spear is brighter than the red gold, yes, andit is more honest. "

"The wealth is unwon, Otter, and I have sworn to win the wealth or die. But last night I swore it again to him who lies dead. "

"It is well, Baas; an oath is an oath and true men must keep it. Butriches cannot be gathered here, for the gold, most of it, is hid inthose rocks that are far too heavy to carry, and who may charm gold outof the rock? Not all the wizards in Zululand. At the least you and Icannot do it alone, even should the fever spare us. We must trek, Baas, and look elsewhere. "

"Listen, Otter, the tale is yet to tell. The Baas who is dead dreamedbefore he died, he dreamed that I should win the gold, that I should winit by the help of a woman, and he bade me wait here a while after he wasdead. Say now, Otter, you who come of a people learned in dreams andare the child of a dream-doctor, was this a true dream or a sick man'sfancy?"

"Nay, Baas, who can tell for sure?" the dwarf answered; then pondered awhile, and set himself to trace lines in the dust of the floor with hisfinger. "Yet I say, " he went on, "that the words of the dead uttered onthe edge of death shall come true. He promised that you should win thewealth: you will win it by this way or that, and the great kraal acrossthe water shall be yours again, and the children of strangers shallwander there no more. Let us obey the words of the dead and bide hereawhile as he commanded. "

Seven days had passed, and on the night of the seventh Leonard Outramand Otter sat together once more in the little cave on Grave Mountain, for so they named this fatal spot. They did not speak, though each ofthem was speaking after his own fashion, and both had cause for thought. They had been hunting all day, but killed nothing except a guinea-fowl, most of which they had just eaten; it was the only food left to them. Game seemed to have abandoned the district--at least they could findnone. 

Since his brother's death Leonard had given up all attempt to dig forgold--it was useless. Time hung heavy on his hands, for a man cannotsearch all day for buck which are not. Gloom had settled on his mindalso; he felt his brother's loss more acutely now than on the day heburied him. Moreover, for the first time he suffered from symptoms ofthe deadly fever which had carried off his three companions. Alas!he knew too well the meaning of this lassitude and nausea, and of theracking pain which from time to time shot through his head and limbs. That was how his brother's last sickness had begun. 

Would his own days end in the same fashion? He did not greatly care, hewas reckless as to his fate, for the hard necessities of life had lefthim little time or inclination to rack himself with spiritual doubts. And yet it was awful to think of. He rehearsed the whole scene in hismind again and yet again until it became a reality to him. He saw hisown last struggle for life and Otter watching it. He saw the dwarfbearing him in his great arms to a lonely grave, there to cover him withearth, and then, with a sigh, to flee the haunted spot for ever. Whydid he stop to die of fever? Because his brother had bidden him to do sowith his dying breath; because of a superstition, a folly, which wouldmove any civilised man to scorn. 

Ah! there was the rub, he was no longer a civilised man; he had lived solong with nature and savages that he had come to be as nature makesthe savage. His educated reason told him that this was folly, but hisinstinct--that faculty which had begun to take the place of educatedreason with him--spoke in another voice. He had gone back in the scaleof life, he had grown primitive; his mind was as the mind of a Norsemanor of an Aztec. It did not seem wonderful to him that his brother shouldhave prophesied upon his dying bed; it did not strike him as strangeeven that he should believe in the prophecy and act upon it. And yethe knew that in all probability this obedience would result in his owndeath. 

Those who have lived much with nature will in some degree be familiarwith such sensations, for man and nature are ever at variance, and eachwould shape the other to its ends. In the issue nature wins. Man boastscontinually of his conquests over her, her instincts, her terrors, andher hopes. But let him escape from out his cities and the fellowshipof his kind, let him be alone with her for a while, and where is hissupremacy? He sinks back on to her breast again and is lost there as intime to be all his labours shall be lost. The grass of the field and thesand of the desert are more powerful than Babylon; they were before her, they are after her; and so it is with everything physical and moral intheir degrees, for here rules a nurse whom we human children must obeyat last, however much we may defy her. 

Thus brooded Leonard as he sat, his hands in his pockets and an emptypipe between his teeth. Their tobacco was done, and yet he drew at thepipe, perhaps from habit. And all the while Otter watched him. 

"Baas, " he said at length, "you are sick, Baas. "

"No, " he answered, "that is, perhaps a little. "

"Yes, Baas, a little. You have said nothing, but I know, I who watch. The fever has touched you with his finger, by-and-by he will grip youwith his whole hand, and then, Baas----"

"And then, Otter, good night. "

"Yes, Baas, for you good night, and for me, what? Baas, you think toomuch and you have nothing to do, that is why you grow sick. Better thatwe should go and dig again. "

"What for, Otter? Ant-bear holes make good graves. "

"Evil talk, Baas. Rather let us go away and wait no more than that youshould talk such talk, which is the beginning of death. "

Then there was silence for a while. 

"The truth is, Otter, " said Leonard presently, "we are both fools. Itis useless for us to stay here with nothing to eat, nothing to drink, nothing to smoke, and only the fever to look forward to, expecting weknow not what. But what does it matter? Fools and wise men all come toone end. Lord! how my head aches and how hot it is! I wish that we hadsome quinine left. I am going out, " and he rose impatiently and left thecave. 

Otter followed him. He knew where he would go--to his brother's grave. Presently they were there, standing on the hither edge of a ravine. Acloud had hidden the face of the moon, and they could see nothing, sothey stood awhile idly waiting for it to pass. 

As they rested thus, suddenly a moaning sound came to their ears, orrather a sound which, beginning with a moan, ended in a long low wail. 

"What is that?" asked Leonard, looking towards the shadows on thefurther side of the ravine, whence the cry seemed to proceed. 

"I do not know, " answered Otter, "unless it be a ghost, or the voice ofone who mourns her dead. "

"We are the only mourners here, " said Leonard, and as he spoke once morethe low and piercing wail thrilled upon the air. Just then the cloudpassed, the moonlight shone out brilliantly, and they saw who it wasthat cried aloud in this desolate place. For there, not twenty pacesfrom them, on the other side of the ravine, crouched upon a stone androcking herself to and fro as though in an agony of despair and grief, sat a tall and withered woman. 

With an exclamation of surprise Leonard started towards her, followed bythe dwarf. So absorbed was the woman in her sorrow that she neither sawnor heard them. Even when they stood close to her she did not perceivethem, for her face was hidden in her bony hands. Leonard looked at hercuriously. She was past middle age, but he could see that once she hadbeen handsome, and, for a native, very light in colour. Her hair wasgrizzled and crisp rather than woolly, and her hands and feet wereslender and finely shaped. At the moment he could discern no more of thewoman's personal appearance, for the face was covered, as has been said, and her body wrapped in a tattered blanket. 

"Mother, " he said, speaking in the Sisutu dialect, "what ails you thatyou weep here alone?"

The stranger let drop her hands and sprang up with a cry of fear. As itchanced, her gaze fell first upon the dwarf Otter, who was standing infront of her, and at the sight of him the cry died upon her lips, andher sunken cheeks, clear-cut features, and sullen black eyes became asthose of one who is petrified with terror. So strange was her aspectindeed that the dwarf and his master neither spoke nor moved; they stoodhushed and expectant. It was the woman who broke this silence, speakingin a low voice of awe and adoration and, as she spoke, sinking to herknees. 

"And hast thou come to claim me at the last, " she said, addressingOtter, "O thou whose name is Darkness, to whom I was given in marriage, and from whom I fled when I was young? Do I see thee in the flesh, Lordof the night, King of blood and terror, and is this thy priest? Or doI but dream? Nay, I dream not; slay on, thou priest, and let my sin bepurged. "

"Here it seems, " said Otter, "that we have to do with one who is mad. "

"Nay, Jal, " the woman answered, "I am not mad, though madness has beennigh to me of late. "

"Neither am I named Jal or Darkness, " answered the dwarf withirritation; "cease to speak folly, and tell the White Lord whence youcome, for I weary of this talk. "

"If you are not Jal, Black One, the thing is strange, for as Jal is soyou are. But perchance it does not please you, having put on the flesh, to avow yourself before me. At the least be it as you will. If you arenot Jal, then I am safe from your vengeance, and if you are Jal I prayyou forget the sins of my youth and spare me. "

"Who is Jal?" asked Leonard curiously. 

"Nay, I know not, " answered the woman, with a sudden change of manner. "Hunger and weariness have turned my brain, and I spoke wandering words. Forget them and give me food, White Man, " she added in a piteous tone, "give me food, for I starve. "

"There is scant fare here, " answered Leonard, "but you are welcome toit. Follow me, mother, " and he led the way across the donga to the cave, the woman limping after him painfully. 

There Otter gave her meat, and she ate as one eats who has gone hungryfor long, greedily and yet with effort. When she had finished she lookedat Leonard with her keen dark eyes and said:

"Say, White Lord, are you also a slave-trader?"

"No, " he answered grimly, "I am a slave. "

"Who is your master then--this Black One here?"

"Nay, he is but the slave of a slave. I have no master, mother; I have amistress, and she is named Fortune. "

"The worst of mistresses, " said the old woman, "or the best, for shelaughs ever behind her frown and mingles stripes with kisses. "

"The stripes I know well, but not the kisses, " answered Leonardgloomily; then added in another tone, "What is your errand, mother? Howare you named, and what do you seek wandering alone in the mountains?"

"I am named Soa, and I seek succour for one whom I love and who is insore distress. Will my lord listen to my tale?"

"Speak on, " said Leonard. 

Then the woman crouched down before him and told this story. 

CHAPTER VI

THE TALE OF SOA

"My lord, I, Soa, am the servant of a white man, a trader who liveson the banks of the Zambesi some four days' march from hence, having ahouse there which he built many years ago. "

"How is the white man named?" asked Leonard. 

"The black people call him Mavoom, but his white name is Rodd. He is agood master and no common man, but he has this fault, that at times heis drunken. Twenty years ago or more Mavoom, my lord, married a whitewoman, a Portuguese whose father dwelt at Delagoa Bay, and who wasbeautiful, ah! beautiful. Then he settled on the banks of the Zambesiand became a trader, building the house where he is now, or rather whereits ruins are. Here his wife died in childbirth; yes, she died in myarms, and it was I who reared her daughter Juanna, tending her from thecradle to this day. 

"Now, after the death of his wife Mavoom became more drunken. Still, when he is not in liquor he is very clever and a good trader, andseveral times he has collected ivory and feathers and gold worth muchmoney, and also has bred cattle by hundreds. Then he would say that hemust leave the wilderness and go to another country across the water, Iknow not where, that country whence the Englishmen come. 

"Twice he has started to go, and I with him and his daughter Juanna, mymistress, who is named the Shepherdess of Heaven by the black people, because they think that she has the gift of foretelling rain. But onceMavoom stopped in a town, at Durban in Natal, and getting drunk hegambled away all his money in a month, and once he lost it in a river, the boat being overset by a river-horse and the ivory and gold sinkingout of sight. Still, the last time that he started he left his daughter, the Shepherdess, at Durban, and there she stayed for three yearslearning those things that the white women know, for she is very clever, as clever as she is beautiful and good. Now, for nearly two years shehas been back at the Settlement, for she came to Delagoa Bay in a ship, and I with her, and Mavoom met us. 

"But one month gone my mistress the Shepherdess spoke to her fatherMavoom, telling him that she wearied of their lonely life in thewilderness and wished to sail across the waters to the land which iscalled Home. He listened to her, for Mavoom loves his daughter, and saidthat it should be so. But he said this also: that first he would go ona trading journey up the river to buy a store of ivory of which he knew. Now she was against this, saying, 'Let us start at once, we have temptedchance too long, and once again we are rich. Let us go to Natal and passover the seas. '

"Still he would not listen, for he is a headstrong man. So on the morrowhe started to search for the store of ivory, and the lady Juanna hisdaughter wept, for though she is fearless, it was not fitting that sheshould be left thus alone; also she hated to be apart from her father, for it is when she is not there to watch that he becomes drunken. 

"Mavoom left, and twelve days went by while I and my mistress theShepherdess sat at the Settlement waiting till he returned. Now it isthe custom of my mistress, when she is dressed, to read each morningfrom a certain holy book in which are written the laws of thatGreat-Great whom she worships. On the thirteenth morning, therefore, shesat beneath the verandah of the house, reading in the book according toher custom, and I went about my work making food ready. Suddenly I hearda tumult, and looking over the wall which is round the garden and to theleft of the house, I saw a great number of men, some of them white, some Arab, and some half-breeds, one mounted and the others on foot, and behind them a long caravan of slaves with the slave-sticks set upontheir necks. 

"As they came these men fired guns at the people of the Settlement, who ran this way and that. Some of the people fell, and more were madecaptive, but others of them got away, for they were at work in thefields and had seen the slave-traders coming. 

"Now, as I gazed affrighted, I saw my mistress, the Shepherdess, flyingtowards the wall behind which I stood, the book she was reading beingstill in her hand. But as she reached it, the man mounted on the muleovertook her, and she turned about and faced him, setting her backagainst the wall. Then I crouched down and hid myself among somebanana-trees, and watched what passed through a crack in the wall. 

"The man on the mule was old and fat, his hair was white and his faceyellow and wrinkled. I knew him at once, for often I have heard of himbefore, who has been the terror of this country for many years. He isnamed the Yellow Devil by the black people, but his Portuguese name isPereira, and he has his place in a secret spot down by one of the mouthsof the Zambesi. Here he collects the slaves, and here the traders cometwice a year with their dhows to carry them to market. 

"Now this man looked at my mistress as she stood terrified with her backagainst the wall; then he laughed and cried aloud in Portuguese, 'Herewe have a pretty prize. This must be that Juanna of whose beauty I haveheard. Where is your father, my dove? Gone trading up the river, has henot? Ah! I knew it, or perhaps I should not have ventured here. But itwas wrong of him to leave one so pretty all alone. Well, well, he isabout his business, and I must be about mine, for I am a merchant also, my dove, a merchant who trades in blackbirds. One with silver feathersdoes not often come my way, and I must make the most of her. Thereis many a young man in our part who will bid briskly for such eyes asyours. Never fear, my dove, we will soon find you a husband. '

"Thus the Yellow Devil spoke, White Man, while the Shepherdess mymistress crouched against the wall and stared at him with frightenedeyes, and the slave-traders his servants laughed aloud at his evilwords. Presently she seemed to understand, and I saw her slowly lift herhand towards her head. Then I knew her purpose. 

"Now, there is a certain deadly poison, White Man, of which I havethe secret, and that secret I taught long ago to my mistress. It is sodeadly that a piece of it no larger than the smallest ant can killa man--yes, the instant after it touches his tongue he will be dead. Living alone as she does in the wilds, it is the custom of my mistressto carry a portion of this poison hidden in her hair, since a time mightcome when she must use it to save herself from worse than death. Now itseemed to her that this hour was upon her, and I knew that she was aboutto take the poison. Then in my fear I whispered to her through the crackin the wall, speaking in an ancient tongue which I have taught her, the tongue of my own people, White Man, and saying: 'Hold your hand, Shepherdess; while you live you may escape, but from death there is noescape. It will be time to use the poison when the worst is with you. '

"She heard and understood, for I saw her bow her head slightly, and herhand fell to her side. Then Pereira spoke again:

"'And now, if you are ready, ' he said, 'we will be moving, for it iseight days' journey to my little Nest on the coast, and who can tellwhen the dhows will come to fetch my blackbirds? Have you anything tosay before you go, my dove?'

"Now my mistress spoke for the first time, answering, 'I am in yourpower, but I do not fear you, for if need be I can escape you. But Itell you this: that your wickedness shall bring your own deathupon you;' and she glanced round at the bodies of those whom theslave-traders had murdered, at the captives upon whom they were settingchains and forks of wood, and the columns of smoke that were rising fromher home, for the roof of the Settlement had been fired. 

"For a moment the Portuguese looked frightened, then he laughed aloudand said with an oath, crossing himself after the fashion of his peopleas a protection against the curse, 'What! you prophesy, do you, my dove, and you can escape me at your will, can you? Well, we shall see. Bringthe other mule for this lady, you fellows. '

"The mule was brought, and Juanna, my mistress, was set upon it. Thenthe slave-traders shot down such of the captives as they thought to beof no value, the drivers flogged the slaves with their three-thonged_sjambochs_ of hippopotamus-hide, and the caravan moved on down thebanks of the river. 

"When all had gone I crept from my hiding-place and sought out those menof the Settlement who had escaped the slaughter, praying them to findarms and follow on the Yellow Devil's spoor, waiting for an opportunityto rescue the Shepherdess whom they loved. But they would not do this, for the heart was out of them, they were cowed by fear, and most of thehead-men had been taken captive. No, they would do nothing except weepover their dead and the burnt kraals. 'You cowards, ' I said, 'if youwill not come, then I must go alone. At the least let some of you passup the river and search for Mavoom, to tell him what has chanced here inhis house. '

"The men said that they would do this, and taking a blanket and a littlefood, I followed upon the track of the slave-drivers. For four days Ifollowed, sometimes coming in sight of them, till at length the meat wasdone and my strength left me. On the morning of the fifth day I couldgo no farther, so I crept to the top of a koppie and watched their longline winding across the plain. In its centre were two mules, and on oneof these mules sat a woman. Then I knew that no harm had befallen mymistress as yet, for she still lived. 

"Now from the koppie I saw a little kraal far away to the right, and tothis kraal I came that same afternoon with my last strength. I told itspeople that I had escaped from the slave-drivers, and they treated mekindly. Here it was also I learnt that some white men from Natal weredigging for gold in these mountains, and next day I travelled on insearch of them, thinking perchance they would help me, for I know wellthat the English hate the slave-drivers. And here, my lord, I am comeat last with much toil, and now I pray you deliver my mistress theShepherdess from the hands of the Yellow Devil. Oh! my Lord, I seem poorand wretched; but I tell you that if you can deliver her you shall wina great reward. Yes, I will reveal to you that which I have kept hiddenall my life, ay, even from Mavoom my master; _I will reveal to you thesecret treasures of my people, 'The Children of the Mist. '_"

Now when Leonard, who all the while had been listening attentively andin silence to Soa's tale, heard her last words, he raised his head andstared at her, thinking that her sorrows had made her mad. There was nolook of madness upon the woman's fierce face, however, but only one ofthe most earnest and indeed passionate entreaty. So, letting this mattergo by for the while, he spoke to her:

"Are you then crazed, mother?" he said. "You see that I am alone herewith one servant, for my three companions, of whom the people in thekraal told you, are dead through fever, and I myself am smitten with it. And yet you ask me, alone as I am, to travel to this slave-trader's campthat is you know not where, and there, single-handed, to rescue yourmistress, if indeed you have a mistress, and your tale is true. Are youthen mad, mother?"

"No, Lord, I am not mad, and that which I tell you is true, everyword of it. I know that I ask a great thing, but I know also that youEnglishmen can do great things when you are well paid. Strive to helpme and you shall have your reward. Ay, should you fail, and live, I canstill give you a reward; not much perhaps, but more than you have everearned. "

"Never mind the reward now, mother, " broke in Leonard testily, for theveiled sarcasm of Soa's speech had stung him, "unless, indeed, you cancure me of the fever, " he added with a laugh. 

"I can do that, " she answered quietly; "to-morrow morning I will cureyou. "

"So much the better, " he said, with an incredulous smile. "And now ofyour wisdom tell me how am I to look for your mistress, to say nothingof rescuing her, when I do not know whither she has been taken? Probablythis Nest of which the Portugee talked is a secret place. How long hasshe been carried off?"

"This will be the twelfth day, Lord. As for the Nest, it is secret; thatI have discovered. It is to your wisdom that I look to find it. "

Leonard mused awhile, then a thought struck him. Turning to the dwarf, who had been sitting by listening to all that was said in stolidsilence, his great head resting upon his knees, he spoke to him inDutch:

"Otter, were you not once taken as a slave?"

"Yes, Baas, once, ten years ago. "

"How was it?"

"Thus Baas. I was hunting on the Zambesi with the soldiers of a tribethere--it was after my own people had driven me out because they saidthat I was too ugly to become their chief, as I was born to be. Then theYellow Devil, that same man of whom the woman speaks, fell upon us withArabs, and took us to his place, there to await the slave-dhows. He wasa stout man, horrible to see, and elderly. The day the dhows came in Iescaped by swimming; and all the others who remained alive were takenoff in ships to Zanzibar. "

"Could you find your way to that place again, Otter?"

"Yes, Baas. It is a hard spot to find, for the path runs throughmorasses; moreover the place is secret and protected by water. All of usslaves were blindfolded during the last day's march. But I worked upmy bandage with my nose--ah! my big nose served me well that day--andwatched the path from beneath it, and Otter never forgets a road overwhich his feet have travelled. Also I followed that path back. "

"Could you find the spot from here?"

"Yes, Baas. I should go along these mountains, ten days' journey ormore, till we struck the southernmost mouth of the Zambesi below Luabo. Then I should follow the river down a day's journey. Afterwards twoor more days through the swamps and we come to the place. But it isa strong place, Baas, and there are many men armed with guns in it;moreover, there is a big cannon, a 'by-and-by'!"

Again Leonard thought a moment, then he turned to Soa and asked, "Do youunderstand Dutch? No? Well I have found out something of this Nestfrom my servant. Pereira said that it was eight days' journey from yourmaster's settlement, so your mistress has been there some three or fourdays if she ever reached it. Now, from what I know of the habits ofslave-traders on this coast, the dhows will not begin to take in theircargoes for another month, because of the monsoon. Therefore, if I amcorrect, there is plenty of time. Mind you, Mother, I am not sayingthat I will have anything to do with this business; I must think it overfirst. "

"Yes, you will, White Man, " she answered, "when you know the reward; butof that I will tell you to-morrow, after I have cured you of your fever. And now I pray, Black One, show me a place where I may sleep, for I amvery weary. "

CHAPTER VII

LEONARD SWEARS ON THE BLOOD OF ACA

On the morrow Leonard woke early from a troubled sleep, for his feverwould scarcely let him rest. But, early as it was, the woman Soa hadbeen up before him, and on coming out of the cave the first thing thathe saw was her tall shape bending over a little fire, whereon a gourdwas boiling, the contents of which she stirred from time to time. 

"Good morning to you, White Man, " she said; "here is that which shallcure you of your sickness as I promised to do;" and she lifted the gourdfrom the fire. 

Leonard took it and sniffed at the liquor, which smelt abominably. 

"It is more likely to poison me, mother, " he said. 

"No, no, " she answered with a smile; "drink half of it now and half atmidday, and the fever shall trouble you no more. "

So soon as the stuff was cool enough Leonard obeyed, though with adoubting heart. 

"Well, mother, " he said, setting the gourd down with a gasp, "ifnastiness is any proof of virtue your medicine should be good. "

"It is good, " she answered gravely; "many have been dragged from theedge of death by it. "

And here it may be stated, whether it was owing to Soa's medicine or toother causes, that Leonard began to mend from that hour. By nightfall hefelt a different man, and before three days were over he was as strongas he had ever been in his life. But into the ingredients of the draughthe never found the courage to inquire, and perhaps it was as well. 

Shortly after he had taken his dose Leonard observed Otter walking upthe hill, bearing a huge lump of meat upon his shoulders. 

"The old woman has brought us luck, " said the dwarf as he loosed himselffrom his burden. "Once more the bush is full of game; scarcely had Ireached it when I killed a young koodoo, fat, ah! fat, and there aremany of them about. "

Then they prepared breakfast, and ate it, and when the meal was doneonce more they talked. 

"Mother, " began Leonard, "last night you asked me to undertake agreat venture, and promised a reward in payment. Now, as you said, weEnglishmen will do much for gold, and I am a poor man who seeks wealth. You demand of me that I should risk my life; now tell me of its price. "

The woman Soa looked at him awhile, and answered:

"White Man, have you ever heard of the People of the Mist?"

"No, " he said, "that is, except in London. I mean that I know nothing ofsuch a people. What of them?"

"This: I, Soa, am one of that people. I was the daughter of theirhead-priest, and I fled from them many many years ago, because I wasdoomed to be offered up as a sacrifice to the god Jal, he who is shapedlike the Black One yonder, " and she pointed to Otter. 

"This is rather interesting, " said Leonard; "go on. "

"White Man, that people is a great people. They live in a region ofmist, upon high lands beneath the shadow of the tops of snow mountains. They are larger than other men in size, and very cruel, but their womenare fair. Now of the beginning of my people I know nothing, for it islost in the past. But they worship an ancient stone statue fashionedlike a dwarf, and to him they offer the blood of men. Beneath the feetof the statue is a pool of water, and beyond the pool is a cave. In thatcave, White Man, he dwells whom they adore in effigy above, he, Jal, whose name is Terror. "

"Do you mean that a dwarf lives in the cave?" asked Leonard. 

"No, White Man, not a dwarf, but a holy crocodile which they name theSnake, the biggest crocodile in the whole world, and the oldest, for hehas dwelt there from the beginning. It is this Snake that devours thebodies of those who are offered to the Black One. "

"As I remarked before, " said Leonard, "all this is very romantic andinteresting, but I cannot see that there is much profit to be made outof it. "

"White Man, the lives of men are not the only things which the priestsof the Children of the Mist offer to their god; they offer also suchtoys as _this_, White Man, " and suddenly she unclosed her hand andexhibited to Leonard's astonished gaze a ruby, or what appeared to bea ruby, of such size and so lovely a colour, that his eyes were dazzledwhen he looked at it. The gem, though roughly polished, was uncut, butits dimensions were those of a small blackbird's egg, it was of thepurest pigeon-blood colour, without a flaw, and worn almost round, apparently by the action of water. Now, as it chanced, Leonard knewsomething of gems, although unhappily he was less acquainted with thepeculiarities of the ruby than with those of most other stones. Thus, although this magnificent specimen might be a true stone, as indeedappeared to be the case, it was quite possible that it was only aspinel, or a garnet, and alas! he had no means of setting his doubts atrest. 

"Do your people find many of these pebbles, Soa?" he asked, "and if so, where do they find them?"

"Yes, White Man, they find many, though few of such a size as this. They dig them out of a dry river-bed in some spot that is known to thepriests only, and with them other beautiful stones of a blue colour. "

"Sapphires probably, " said Leonard to himself: "they generally gotogether. "

"Every year they dig them, " she went on, "and the biggest of those thatare found in their digging they bind upon the brow of her who is to beoffered as a wife to the god Jal. Afterwards, before she dies, they takethe gem from her brow and store it in a secret place, and there in thatsecret place are hidden all those that have been worn by the victims ofcountless years. Moreover the eyes of Jal are made of such stones, andthere are others. 

"This is the legend of my people, White Man, that Jal, God of Death andEvil, slew his mother, Aca, in the far past. There where the stones arefound he slew her, and the red gems are her blood, and the blue gems areher tears which she shed praying to him for mercy. Therefore the bloodof Aca is offered to Jal, and so it shall be offered till Aca comesagain to drive his worship from the land. "

"A nice bit of mythology, I am sure, " said Leonard. "Our old friends theDarkness and the Dawn in an African shape, I suppose. But listen to me, mother. This stone, if it is genuine, is worth many ounces of gold, butthere are other stones so like it that none who are not learned can tellthe difference, and if it be one of these it is of little value. Stillit may happen that this, and the others of which you speak, are truerubies; at any rate I should be willing to take my chance of that. Butnow, tell me, what is your plan? This is a very pretty story, and therubies may be there, but how am I to get them?"

"I have a plan, White Man, " she answered. "If you will help me, I offerto give you that stone, which I have borne hidden about me for manyyears, tellings its story to none, no, not even to Mavoom. I offerto give it to you now if you will promise to attempt the rescue of mymistress, for I know by your eyes that if once you promise you will notdesert the quest;" and she paused, looking at him keenly. 

"Very well, " said Leonard, "but considering the risks the price does notseem quite good enough. As I told you, this stone may be worth nothing:you must make a better bid, mother. "

"Truly, White Man, I have judged you well, " answered Soa with a sneer;"also you are wise: little work for little wage. Listen now, this is thepay I proffer you. 

"If you succeed, and the Shepherdess is saved alive from the grip of theYellow Devil, I promise this on her behalf and on my own: that I willguide you to the land of the People of the Mist, and show you a wayto win for yourself all those other countless stones that are hiddenthere. "

"Good, " said Leonard, "but why do you promise on behalf of your mistressand yourself? What has she got to do with it?"

"Without her nothing can be done, White Man. This people is great andstrong, and we have no force with which to conquer them in war. Herecraft must be your spear. "

"You must speak more clearly, Soa. I cannot waste time in guessingriddles. How will you conquer this people by craft, and what has MissRodd, whom you name the Shepherdess, to do with the matter?"

"That you shall learn by-and-by, after you have rescued her, White Man;till then my lips are shut. I tell you that I have a plan, and this mustbe enough, for more I will not say. If you are not content, let me go toseek help elsewhere. "

Leonard thought a moment, and seeing that she was determined not to bemore explicit, said:

"Very well, then. And now how am I to know that your mistress will fallin with this scheme?"

"I answer for her, " said Soa, "she will never go back upon my word. Lookyou, White Man, it is not for a little thing that I would have told youthis tale. If you journey to the land of the People of the Mist, I mustgo with you, and there, should I be discovered, my death waits me. Itell you the tale, or some of it, and I offer you the bribe becauseI see that you need money, and I am sure that without the chance ofwinning money you will not hazard your life in this desperate search. But I love my mistress so well that I am ready to hazard mine; ay, Iwould give six lives, if I had them, to save her from the shame of theslave. Now, White Man, we have talked enough; is it a bargain?"

"What do you say, Otter?" asked Leonard, thoughtfully pulling at hisbeard, "you have heard all this wonderful tale and you are clever. "

"Yes, Baas, " said the dwarf, speaking for the first time, "I have heardthe tale, and as for being clever, perhaps I am and perhaps I am not. Mypeople said that I was clever, and that is one of the reasons why theywould not have me for a chief. If I had been clever only, they couldhave borne it, they said, or if I had been ugly only, but being bothugly and clever I was no chief for them. They feared lest I should rulethem too well and make all the people to be born ugly also. Ah! theywere fools; they did not understand that it wants someone cleverer thanI to make people so ugly. "

"Never mind all that, " said Leonard, who understood however that thedwarf was talking thus in order to give himself time to think before heanswered. "Show me your mind, Otter. "

"Baas, what can I say? I know nothing of the value of that red stone. I do not know whether this woman, of whom my heart tells me no good, speaks truth or lies about a distant people who live in a fog andworship a god shaped as I am. None have ever worshipped me, yet theremay be a land where I should be deemed worthy of worship, and if soI should like to travel in that land. But as to the rescue of thisShepherdess from the Nest of the Yellow Devil, I do not know how it canbe brought about. Say, mother, how many of the men of Mavoom were takenprisoners with your mistress?"

"Fifty of them perchance, " answered Soa. 

"Well now, " went on the dwarf, "if we could loose those men and if theyare brave we might do something, but there are many _if's_ about it, Baas. Still if you think the pay is good enough we can try. It will bebetter than sitting here, and it does not matter what happens. Every manto his fate, Baas, and fate to every man. "

"A good motto, " said Leonard. "Soa, I take your offer, though I am afool for my pains. And now, with your leave, we will put the matterinto writing so that there may be no mistake about it afterwards. Get alittle blood from the buck's flesh, Otter, and mix gunpo water with it;that will do for ink if we add some hot water. "

While the dwarf was compounding this ominous mixture Leonard sought ofpaper. He could find none; the last had been lost when the hut was blownaway on the night of his brother's death. Then he bethought him ofthe prayer-book which Jane Beach had given him. He would not use thefly-leaf, because her name was on it, so he must write across thetitle-page. And thus he wrote in small, neat letters with his mixture ofblood and gunpowder straight through the _Order of Common Prayer_:--

"_Agreement between Leonard Outram and Soa, the native woman. _

"I. The said Leonard Outram agrees to use his best efforts to rescueJuanna, the daughter of Mr. Rodd, now reduced to a state of slavery andbelieved to be in the power of one Pereira, a slave-dealer. 

"II. In consideration of the services of the said Leonard Outram, thesaid Soa delivers to him a certain stone believed to be a ruby, of whichthe said Leonard Outram hereby acknowledges the receipt. 

"III. Should the rescue be effected, the said Soa hereby agrees, onbehalf of herself and the said Juanna Rodd, to conduct the said LeonardOutram to a certain spot in central South Eastern Africa, inhabited bya tribe known as the People of the Mist, there to reveal to him and tohelp him to gain possession of the store of rubies used in the religiousceremonies of the said tribe. Further, the said Soa agrees, on behalf ofthe said Juanna Rodd, that she, the said Juanna, will accompany her uponthe journey, and will play among the said People of the Mist anypart that may be required of her as necessary to the success of thisundertaking. 

"IV. It is mutually agreed that these enterprises be prosecuted untilthe said Leonard Outram is satisfied that they are fruitless. 

"Signed in the Manica Mountains, Eastern Africa, on the ninth day of May18--. "

When he had finished this document, perhaps one of the most remarkablethat were ever written since Pizarro drew up his famous agreement forthe division of the prospective spoils of Peru, Leonard read it aloudand laughed heartily to himself. It was the first time that he hadlaughed for some months. Then he translated it to his companions, notwithout complaisancy, for it had a truly legal sound, and your laymanloves to affect the lawyer. 

"What do you think of that, Otter?" he asked when he had finished. 

"It is fine, Baas, very fine, " answered the dwarf. "Wonderful are theways of the white man! But, Baas, how can the old woman promise thingson behalf of another?"

Leonard pulled his beard reflectively. The dwarf had put his fingerupon the weak spot in the document. But he was saved the necessity ofanswering by Soa herself, who said quietly, "Have no fear, White Man;that which I promise in her name, my mistress will certainly perform, if so be that you can save her. Give me the pen that I may make my markupon the paper. But first do you swear upon the red stone that you willperform what you undertake in this writing. "

So Leonard laughed, swore, and signed, and Soa made her mark. ThenOtter affixed his, as witness to the deed, and the thing was finished. Laughing again at the comicality of the transaction, which indeed he hadcarried out more by way of joke than for any other reason, Leonard putthe prayer-book in his pocket and the great ruby into a division ofhis belt. The old woman watched the stone vanish with an expression oftriumph on her face, then she cried exultingly:

"Ah! White Man, you have taken my pay, and now you are my servant to theend. He who swears upon the blood of Aca swears an oath indeed, and woebe to him if he should break it. "

"Quite so, " answered Leonard; "I have taken your pay and I mean to earnit, so we need not enter into the matter of the blood of Aca. It seemsto me more probable that our own blood will be in question before all issaid and done. And now we had better make ready to start. "

CHAPTER VIII

THE START

Food was their first consideration, and to provide it Leonard bade Ottercut the lump of raw meat into strips and set them upon the rocks to dryin the broiling sun. Then they sorted their goods and selected such ofthem as they could carry. 

Alas! they were but few. A blanket apiece--a spare pair of bootsapiece--some calomel and sundries from the medicine-chest--a shot gunand the two best rifles and ammunition--a compass, a water bottle, three knives, a comb, and a small iron cooking-pot made up the total--aconsiderable weight for two men and a woman to drag across mountains, untravelled plains, and swamps. This baggage was divided into threeloads, of which Soa's was the lightest, and that of Otter weighed asmuch as the other two put together. 

"It was nothing, " he said, "he could carry the three if need were;" andso great was the dwarf's strength that Leonard knew this to be no idleboast. 

At length all was prepared, and the articles that remained were buriedin the cave together with the mining tools. It was not likely that theywould ever return to seek them; more probably they will lie there till, thousands of years hence, they are dug up and become priceless relicsof the Anglo-African age. Still they hid them on the chance. Leonard hadmelted the fruits of their mining into little ingots. In all there wereabout a hundred ounces of almost pure gold--the price of three men'slives! Half of these ingots he placed with the ruby in the belt abouthis middle, and half he gave to Otter, who hid them in his bundle. Leonard's first idea was to leave the bullion, because it entailed thecarrying of extra weight; but he remembered in time that gold isalways useful, and nowhere more so than among Portuguese and Arabslave-drivers. 

By evening everything was ready, and when the edge of the moon showedabove the horizon, Leonard rose, and lifting his load, fastened it uponhis shoulders with the loops of hide which had been prepared, Otter andSoa following his example. It was their plan to travel by night so longas the state of the moon served them, for thus they would escape theterrible heat and lessen the danger of being observed. 

"Follow me in a few minutes, " said Leonard to Otter; "you will find meby the donga. "

The dwarf nodded. A quarter of an hour later he started also with Soaand found his master standing bareheaded by his brother's grave, takinga mute farewell of that which lay beneath before he left it for ever toits long sleep in the untrodden wilderness. It was a melancholy parting, but there have been many such in the African fever belt. 

With one last look Leonard turned and joined his companions. Then, having taken counsel with them and with the compass, he set his face tothe mountain and his heart to the new adventures, hopes, and fears thatwere beyond it. The past was done with, it lay buried in yonder grave, but by the mercy of God he was still a man, living beneath the sunlight, and the future stretched away before him. What would it bring? He caredlittle; experience had taught him the futility of anxieties as tothe future. Perchance a grave like those which he had left, perchancewealth, love, and honour. Whatever the event he would strive to meetit with patience, dignity, and resignation. It was not his part to askquestions or to reason why; it was his part to struggle on and take suchguerdon as it pleased Providence to send him. 

Thus thought Leonard, and this is the right spirit for an adventurer tocultivate. It is the right spirit in which to meet the good and ill oflife--that greatest of adventures which every one of us must dare. Hewho meets them thus and holds his heart pure and his hands clean willlay himself down to sleep without a sigh or a regret when mountain, swamp, river, and forest all are travelled, and the unknown innumerabletreasure, buried from the olden time far out of reach of man's sight andknowledge, at last is opened to his gaze. 

So Leonard started, and his hopes were high notwithstanding thedesperate nature of their undertaking. For here it must be confessedthat the undesirable element of superstition still held fast upon hismind, and now with some slight cause. Had not his brother spoken ofwealth that he should win by the aid of a woman? And had not a womancome to him, bearing in her hand a jewel which, if real, was in itselfworth a moderate fortune; promising also, with the help of anotherwoman, to lead him to a land where many such might be found? Yes, thesethings were so, and it may be pardoned to Leonard if, setting aside thetheory of coincidence, he began to believe that the end would be as thebeginning had been, that the great adventure would be achieved and thewealth be won. 

We shall not need to follow the footsteps of Leonard Outram and hiscompanions day by day. For a week they travelled on, journeying mostlyby night as they had proposed. They climbed mountains, they struggledthrough swamps and forests, they swam rivers. Indeed one of these was inflood, and they never could have crossed it had it not been for Otter'spowers of natation. Six times did the dwarf face the torrent, bearingtheir goods and guns held above the water with one hand. On the seventhjourney he was still more heavily weighted, for, with some assistancefrom Leonard, he must carry the woman Soa, who could swim but little. But he did it, and without any great fatigue. It was not until Otter wasseen stemming a heavy current that his vast strength could be measured. Here, indeed, his stunted stature was a positive advantage, for itoffered the less surface for the water to act upon. 

So they travelled forward, sometimes hungry, sometimes full of meat, and even of what were better, of milk and corn. For the country was notentirely deserted; occasionally they came to scattered kraals, and wereable to obtain provisions from their peaceful inhabitants in return forsome such trifle as an empty cartridge of brass. At first Leonard wasafraid lest Soa should tire, but notwithstanding her years and thehardships and sufferings which she had undergone, she showed wonderfulendurance--endurance so wonderful that he came to the conclusion thatit was her spirit which supported the frailty of her body, and theever-present desire to rescue one whom she loved as a surly dogsometimes loves its master. However this might be, she pushed forwardwith the rest, rarely speaking except to urge them onwards. 

On the eighth night of their journey they halted upon the crest of ahigh mountain. The moon had set, and it was impossible to go further;moreover, they were weary with long marching. Wrapping themselves upin their blankets--for here the air was piercingly cold--they lay downbeneath the shelter of some bushes to sleep till dawn. It was Otter whowoke them. "Look, Baas, " he said to Leonard, "we have marched straight. There below us is the big river, and there far to the right is the sea. "

They looked. Some miles from them, across the great plain of bush thatmerged gradually into swamp, lay that branch of the Zambesi which theywould reach. They could not see it, indeed, for its face was hid by adense cloak of soft white mist that covered it like a cloud. But thereit was, won at last, and there away to the eastward shone the wideglitter of the sea, flecked with faint lines of broken billows whencethe sun rose in glory. 

"See, Baas, " said Otter, when they had satisfied themselves withthe beautiful sight, "yonder, some five hours' march from here, themountains curve down to the edge of the river. Thither we must go, forit is on the further side of those hills that the great swamp lies wherethe Yellow Devil has his place. I know the spot well; I have passed ittwice. "

They rested till noonday; but that night, before the moon rose, theystood on the curve of the mountain, close down to the water's edge. Atlength she came up, and showed them a wonderful scene of desolation. Beyond the curve of hills the mountains trended out again to the south, gradually growing lower till at last they melted into the skyline. In the vast semicircle thus formed ran the river, spotted with greenislands, while between it and the high ground, over a space which variedfrom one mile at the narrowest to twenty miles in width at the broadestof the curve, was spread a huge and dismal swamp, marked by patches ofstagnant water, clothed with reeds which grew to the height of smalltrees, and exhaling a stench as of the rottenness of ages. 

The loneliness of the place was dreadful, its waste and desolation wereappalling. And yet it lived with a life of its own. Wild fowl flew inwedges from the sea to feed in its recesses, alligators and hippopotamisplashed in the waters, bitterns boomed among the rushes, and from everypool and quagmire came the croaking of a thousand frogs. 

"Yonder runs the slave road, or yonder it once ran, " said Otter, pointing to the foot of a hill. 

"Let us go and see, " answered Leonard; "we can follow it for a while andcamp. "

They climbed down the hill. At its foot Otter cast backwards andforwards among the bushes like a hound. Then he held up his hand andwhistled. 

"I thought so, " he said, as the others drew near; "the path is still thesame. Look, Baas. "

As he spoke he broke down the branches of a creeping bush with hisstrong foot. Among them lay the mouldering skeleton of a woman, and byher side that of a child. 

"Not long dead, " said Otter phlegmatically, "perhaps two weeks. Ah! theYellow Devil leaves a spoor that all may follow. "

Soa bent over the bones and examined them. "One of Mavoom's people, " shesaid; "I know the fashion of the anklets. "

Then they marched on for two hours or more, till at length they came toa spot where the trail ran to the edge of the water and stopped. 

"What now, Otter?" said Leonard. 

"Here the slaves are put on boats, Baas, " the dwarf answered. "The boatsshould be hidden yonder, " and he pointed to some thick reeds. "There toothey 'weed the corn, ' killing out the weakly ones, that they may not beburdened with them. Let us go and look. "

They went, Otter leading the way. Presently he halted. "The boats aregone, " he said, "all except one canoe; but the 'weeds' lie in a heap asof old. "

He was right. Piled in a little open space lay the bodies of some thirtymen, women, and children recently dead. In other spaces close by weresimilar heaps, but these were of bleached bones on which the moonlightshone brightly--mementoes of former sacrifices. Quite close to the firstpile of dead was a mooring-place where at least a dozen flat-bottomedboats had been secured, for their impress could yet be seen in thesand. Now they were gone with the exception of the canoe, which was keptthere, evidently to facilitate the loading and launching of the largeboats. 

Nobody made any comment. The sight was beyond comment, but a fiercedesire rose in Leonard's heart to come face to face with this "YellowDevil" who fattened on the blood and agony of helpless human beings, andto avenge them if he might. 

"The light is going, we must camp here till the morning, " he said aftera while. 

And there they camped in this Golgotha, this place of bones, every oneof which cried to heaven for vengeance. 

The night wind swept over them whispering in the giant reeds, fashioningthe mists into fantastic shapes that threw strange shadows on the inkysurface of the water as it crept slowly to the sea. From time to timethe frogs broke into a sudden chorus of croaking, then grew silentagain; the heron cried from afar as some alligator or river-horsedisturbed its rest, and from high in air came the sound of the wings ofwild-fowl that travelled to the ocean. But to Leonard's fancy all thesevarious voices of nature were as one voice that spoke from the piles ofskeletons gleaming faintly in the uncertain starlight and cried, "Oh!God, how long shall iniquity have power on the earth? Oh! God, how longshall thy Hand be stayed?"

The darkness passed, the sun shone out merrily, and the travellersarose, brushed the night-dew from their hair, and ate a scanty meal, forthey must husband such food as they had with them. Then, as though bycommon consent, they went to the canoe, bailed her out, and started, Leonard and Otter using the paddles. 

Now it was that the dwarf's marvellous memory for locality came intoplay. Without him they could not have gone a mile, for their course ranthrough numberless lagoons and canals, cut by nature and the currentin the dense banks of reeds. There was nothing to enable them todistinguish one of these canals from another; in truth they all formeda portion of this mouth of the river. There were no landmarks to guidethem; everywhere spread a sea of swamp diversified by rush-clothedislands, which to the inexperienced eye presented few points ofdifference. This was the road that Otter led them on unfalteringly; tenyears had passed since he had travelled it, but he never even hesitated. Time upon time they came to new openings in the reeds leading this wayand that. Then for a moment the dwarf would consider, and, lifting hishand, point out which water-way they should choose, and they followedit. 

Thus they went on for the most part of that day, till towards eveningthey reached a place where the particular canal that they were followingsuddenly divided itself into two, one branch running north and one in asoutherly direction. 

"Which way, Otter?" asked Leonard. 

"Nay, Baas, I know not. The water has changed; there was no land here, the cut went straight on. "

This was a serious matter, for one false step in such a labyrinth meantthat they would be lost utterly. For long they debated which streamto take, and at last decided to try that on the left hand, which Otterthought ran more nearly in the true direction. They had already startedin pursuance of his advice when Soa, who had remained silent hitherto, suggested that they should first go a little way down the right-handstream on the chance of finding a clue. Leonard demurred, but as thewoman seemed bent upon it, he yielded, and turning the boat they paddledher some three hundred yards in this new direction. As there was nothingto be seen, however, Otter began to put her about again. 

"Stay, White Man, " said Soa, who had been searching the surface of thewater with her quick eyes, "what is that thing yonder?" and she pointedto a clump of reeds about forty yards away, among which some small whiteobject was just discernible. 

"Feathers, I think, " Leonard answered, "but we will go and see. " Inanother moment they were there. 

"It is paper, Baas, " said Otter in a low voice, "paper stuck on a reed. "

"Lift it carefully, " answered Leonard in the same tone, for his anxietywas keen. How came it that they found paper fixed to a reed in such aplace as this?

Otter obeyed, laying the sodden sheet on the thwart of the canoe beforeLeonard, who with Soa examined it closely. 

"This is a leaf from that holy book in which my mistress reads, " saidthe woman with conviction; "I know the shape of it well. She has tornthe paper out and affixed it on the reed as a sign to any who might comeafter her. "

"It looks like it, " said Leonard; "that was a good thought of yours toturn up here, old lady. " Then he bent down and read such verses as werestill legible on the page; they ran thus:

"For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heavendid the Lord behold the earth;"

"To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointedto death;"

"The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall beestablished before thee. "

"Hum!" said Leonard to himself, "the quotation seems very appropriate. If one had faith in omens now, a man might say that this was a goodone. " And in his heart he believed it to be so. 

Another hour's journey brought them to the point of the island alongwhich they had been travelling. 

"Ah, " said Otter, "now I know the path again. This is the right stream, that to the left must be a new one. Had we taken it we should have lostour way, and perhaps have found it no more for days, or not at all. "

"Say, Otter, " said Leonard, "you escaped from this slave-camp. How didyou do it--in a boat?"

"No, Baas. The Baas knows that I am strong, my Spirit who gave meugliness gave me strength also to make up for it, and it is well, forhad I been beautiful as you are, Baas, and not very strong, I shouldhave been a slave now, or dead. With my chained hands I choked him whowas set to watch me, and took his knife. Then by my strength I broke theirons--see, Baas, here are the scars of them to this day. When I brokethem they cut into my flesh, but they were old irons that had been onmany slaves, so I mastered them. Then as others came to kill me I threwmyself into the water and dived, and they never saw me more. AfterwardsI swam all the way, resting from time to time on the islands and fromtime to time running along the shore where the reeds were not too thick, till at length I escaped into the open country. I travelled four days toreach it, and most of that time I was in the water. "

"And what did you feed on?"

"Roots and the eggs of birds. "

"And did not the alligators try to eat you?"

"Yes, one, Baas, but I am quick in the water. I got upon thewater-snake's back--ah! my Spirit was with me then--and I drove theknife through his eye into his brain. Then I smeared myself over withhis blood, and after that they did not touch me, for they knew the smelland thought that I was their brother. "

"Say, Otter, are you not afraid of going back to this place?"

"Somewhat, Baas, for there is that hell of which you white people talk. But where the Baas goes there I can go also; Otter will not linger whileyou run. Also, Baas, I am not brave, no, no, yet I would look upon thatYellow Devil again, yes, if I myself must die to do it, and kill himwith these hands. "

And the dwarf dropped the paddle screaming "Kill him! kill him! killhim!" so loudly that the birds rose in affright from the marshes. 

"Be quiet, " said Leonard angrily; "do you want to bring the Arabs onus?"

But to himself he thought that he should be sorry for Pereira, alias the"Yellow Devil, " if once Otter found a chance to fly at his throat. 

CHAPTER IX

THE YELLOW DEVIL'S NEST

Sundown came, and, as on the previous night, the three travellerscamped upon an island waiting for the moon to rise. They had caught twoflapper-ducks in some weeds, and there was a talk of lighting a fire tocook them by. Finally Leonard negatived this idea. "It is dangerous, "he said, "for fires can be seen from afar. " So they made a wretched mealoff a little dried meat and some raw duck's eggs. 

It was fortunate that his caution prevailed, since, as the twilightwas dying into dark, they heard the stroke of paddles and made out theshapes of canoes passing them. There were several canoes, each of whichtowed something behind it, and the men in them shouted to one anotherfrom time to time, now in Portuguese and now in Arabic. 

"Lie still, lie still, " whispered Otter, "these are the slave-men takingback the big boats. "

Leonard and Soa followed his advice to the letter, and the slavers, paddling furiously up stream, passed within thirty feet of where theycrouched in the rushes. 

"Give way, comrades, " called one man to the captain of the next canoe;"the landing-place is near, and there is rum for those who earn it. "

"I hope that they will not stop here, " said Leonard beneath his breath. 

"Hist!" answered Otter, "I hear them landing. "

He was right; the party had disembarked about two hundred yards away. Presently they heard them collecting reeds for burning, and in tenminutes more two bright tongues of flame showed that they had lit theirfires. 

"We had better get out of this, " said Leonard; "if they discover us----"

"They will not discover us, Baas, if we lie still, " answered Otter; "letus wait awhile. I have another plan. Listen, Baas. " And he whispered inhis ear. 

So they waited. From the fires below them came the sound of men eatingand drinking--especially drinking. An hour passed, and Leonard rose, followed by Otter, who said:

"I will come too, Baas; I can move like a cat. "

"Where are you going, White Man?" asked Soa. 

"I am going to spy upon those men. I understand Portuguese, and wish tohear what they say. Otter, take your knife and revolver, but no gun. "

"Good, " said the woman, "but be careful. They are very clever. "

"Yes, yes, " put in Otter, "but the Baas is clever also, and I, I amclever. Do not fear for us, mother. "

Then they started, creeping cautiously through the reeds. When they werewithin twenty yards of the fires, Leonard missed his footing and fellinto a pool of water with a splash. Some of the slave-dealers heardthe noise and sprang to their feet. Instantly Otter grunted in exactimitation of a hippopotamus-calf. 

"A sea-cow, " said a man in Portuguese. "She won't hurt us. The fire willfrighten her. "

Leonard and Otter waited awhile, then crept to a clump of reeds whencethey could hear every word that was spoken. The men round the firenumbered twenty-two. One, their leader, appeared to be a pure-bredPortugee, some of the others were Bastards and the rest Arabs. They weredrinking rum and water out of tin pannikins--a great deal of rum andvery little water. Many of them seemed half-drunk already, at any ratetheir tongues were loosened. 

"May a curse fall upon our father, the Devil!" said one, a half-breed;"why did he take it into his head to send us back with the boats justnow? We shall miss the fun. "

"What fun?" answered the leader of the party. "They won't cage the birdsfor another three or four days; the dhows are not ready, and there istalk of an English cruiser--may she sink to hell!--hanging about outsidethe river mouth. "

"No, not that, " said the man who had spoken first, "there is not muchsport in driving a lot of stinking niggers on to a dhow. I mean theauction of the white girl, the English trader's daughter, whom we caughtup the river yonder. There's a beauty for some lucky dog; I never sawsuch a one. What eyes she has, and what a spirit! why, most of thelittle dears would have cried themselves blind by now. "

"You needn't think about her, " sneered his leader; "she will go toodear for the likes of you; besides it is foolish to spend so much on onegirl, white or black. When is the auction?"

"It was to have been the night before the dhows sail, but now the Devilsays it shall be to-morrow night. I will tell you why--he is afraid ofher. He thinks that she will bring misfortune to him, and wants to berid of her. Ah! he is a wag, is the old man--he loves a joke, he does. 'All men are brothers, ' he said yesterday, 'white or black; thereforeall women are sisters. ' So he is going to sell her like a nigger girl. What is good enough for them is good enough for her. Ha! ha! pass therum, brother, pass the rum. "

"Perhaps he will put it off and we may be back in time, after all, " saidthe captain. "Anyhow, here is a health to her, the love. By the way, did some of you think to ask the password before we left this morning? Iforgot to do so, myself. "

"Yes, " said a Bastard, "the old word, 'the Devil. '"

"There is none better, comrades, none better, " hiccoughed the leader. 

Then for an hour or more their talk went on--partly about Juanna, partlyabout other things. As they grew more drunk the conversation became moreand more revolting, till Leonard could scarcely listen to it and liestill. At length it died away, and one by one the men sank into a soundand sodden sleep. They did not set a sentry, for here on the island theyhad no fear of foes. 

Then Otter rose upon his hands and knees, and his face looked fierce inthe faint light. 

"Baas, " he whispered, "shall we----" and he drew his hand across histhroat. 

Leonard thought awhile. His rage was deep, and yet he shrank from theslaughter of sleeping men, however wicked. Besides, could it be donewithout noise? Some of them would wake--fear would sober them, and theywere many. 

"No, " he whispered back. "Follow me, we will cut loose the boats. "

"Good, good, " said Otter. 

Then, stealthily as snakes, they crept some thirty yards to where theboats were tied to a low tree--three canoes and five large flat-bottomedpunts, containing the arms and provisions of the slave-dealers. Drawingtheir knives they cut these loose. A gentle push set them moving, thenthe current caught them, and slowly they floated away into the night. 

This done they crawled back again. Their path took them within fivepaces of where that half-breed ruffian lay who had begun the talk towhich they had listened. Leonard looked at him and turned to creep away;already Otter was five paces ahead, when suddenly the edge of the moonshowed for the first time and its light fell full upon the slaver'sface. The sleeping man awoke, sat up, and saw them. 

Now Leonard dared not hesitate, or they were lost. Like a tiger hesprang at the man's throat and had grasped it in his hand before hecould even cry aloud. Then came a struggle short and sharp, and a knifeflashed. Before Otter could get back to his side it was done--so swiftlyand so silently that none of the band had wakened, though one or two ofthem stirred and muttered in their heavy sleep. 

Leonard sprang up unhurt, and together they ran, rather than walked, back to the spot where they had left Soa. 

She was watching for them, and pointing to Leonard's coat, asked "Howmany?"

"One, " answered Otter. 

"I would it had been all, " Soa muttered fiercely, "but you are onlytwo. "

"Quick, " said Leonard, "into the canoe with you. They will be after uspresently. "

In another minute they had pushed off and were clear of the island, which was not more than a quarter of a mile long. They paddled acrossthe river, which at this spot ran rapidly and had a width of some eighthundred yards, so as to hide in the shadow of the opposite bank. When they reached it Otter rested on his paddles and gave vent to asuppressed chuckle, which was his nearest approach to laughter. 

"Why do you laugh, Black One?" asked Soa. 

"Look yonder, " he answered, and he pointed to some specks on the surfaceof the river which were fast vanishing in the distance. "Yonder go theboats of the slave-dealers, and in them are their arms and food. We cutthem loose, the Baas and I. There on the island sleep two-and-twentymen--all save one: there they sleep, and when they wake what will theyfind? They will find themselves on a little isle in the middle of greatwaters, into which, even if they could, they will not dare to swimbecause of the alligators. They can get no food on the island, forthey have no guns and ducks do not stop to be caught, but outside thealligators will wait in hundreds to catch _them_. By-and-by they willgrow hungry--they will shout and yell, but none will hear them--thenthey will become mad, and, falling on each other, they will eat eachother and die miserably one by one. Some will take to the water, thosewill drown or be caught by the alligators, and so it shall go on tillthey are all dead, every one of them, dead, dead, dead!" and again Otterchuckled. 

Leonard did not reprove him; with the talk of these wretches yet echoingin his ears he could feel little pity for the horrible fate which wouldcertainly overtake them. 

Hark! a faint sound stole across the quiet waters, a sound which grewinto a clamour of fear and rage. The slavers had awakened, they hadfound the dead man in their midst mysteriously slain by an invisiblefoe. And now the clamour gathered to a yell, for they had learned thattheir boats were gone and that they were trapped. 

From their shelter on the other side of the river, as they droppedleisurely down the stream, Leonard and Otter could catch distantglimpses of the frantic men rushing to and fro in the bright moonlightand seeking for their boats. But the boats had departed to return nomore. By degrees the clamour lessened behind them, till at last it diedaway, swallowed in the silence of the night. 

Then Leonard told Soa what he had heard by the slaver's fire. 

"How far is the road, Black One?" she asked when he had finished. 

"By sundown to-morrow we shall be at the Yellow Devil's gates!" answeredOtter. 

Two hours later they overtook the boats which they had cut adrift. Mostof them were tied together, and they floated peacefully in a group. 

"We had better scuttle them, " said Leonard. 

"No, Baas, " answered Otter, "if we escape we may want them again. Yonderis the place where we must land, " and he pointed to a distant tongue ofmarsh. "Let us go with the boats there and make them fast. Perhaps wemay find food in them, and we need food. "

The advice was good, and they followed it. Keeping alongside of thepunts and directing them, when necessary, with a push of the paddles, they reached the point just as the dawn was breaking. Here in asheltered bay they found a mooring-place to which they fastened all theboats with ropes that hung ready. Then they searched the lockers andto their joy discovered food in plenty, including cooked meat, spirits, biscuits, bread, and some oranges and bananas. Only those who have beenforced to do without farinaceous food for days or weeks will know whatthis abundance meant to them. Leonard thought that he had never eaten amore delicious meal, or drunk anything so good as the rum and water withwhich they washed it down. 

They found other things also: rifles, cutlasses and ammunition, and, better than all, a chest of clothes which had evidently belonged tothe officer or officers of the party. One suit was a kind of uniformplentifully adorned with gold lace, having tall boots and a broad felthat with a white ostrich feather in it to match. Also there were somelong Arab gowns and turbans, the gala clothes of the slave-dealers, which they took with them in order to appear smart on their return. 

But the most valuable find of all was a leather bag in the breeches ofthe uniform, containing the sum of the honest gains of the leader ofthe party, which he had preferred to keep in his own company even onhis travels. On examination this bag was found to hold something over ahundred English sovereigns and a dozen or fifteen pieces of Portuguesegold. 

"Now, Baas, " said Otter, "this is my word, that we put on theseclothes. "

"What for?" asked Leonard. 

"For this reason: that should we be seen by the slave-traders they willthink us of their brethren. "

The advantages of this step were so obvious that they immediatelyadopted it. Thus disguised, with a silk sash round his middle and apistol stuck in it, Leonard might well have been mistaken for the mostferocious of slave-traders. 

Otter too looked sufficiently strange, robed as an Arab and wearing aturban. Being a dwarf, the difficulty was that all the dresses provedtoo long for him. Finally it was found necessary to cut one down by theprimitive process of laying it on a block of wood and chopping throughit with a sabre. 

When this change of garments had been effected, and their own clotheswith the spare arms were hidden away in the rushes on the somewhatremote chance that they might be useful hereafter, they prepared for astart on foot across the marshes. By an afterthought Leonard fetched thebag of gold and put it in his pocket. He felt few scruples in availinghimself of the money of the slave-driver, not for his own use indeed, but because it might help their enterprise. 

Now their road ran along marshes and by secret paths that none savethose who had travelled them could have found. But Otter had notforgotten. On they went through the broiling heat of the day, sincelinger they dared not. They met no living man on their path, though hereand there they found the body of some wretched slave, whose corpse hadbeen cast into the reeds by the roadside. But the road had been trodden, and recently, by many feet, among which were the tracks of two mules ordonkeys. 

At last, about an hour before sunset, they came to the home of theYellow Devil. The Nest was placed thus. It stood upon an island havingan area of ten or twelve acres. Of this, however, only about four anda half acres were available for a living space; the rest was a morasshidden by a growth of very tall reeds, which morass, starting froma great lagoon on the northern and eastern sides, ran up to the lowenclosure of the buildings that, on these faces, were considered to besufficiently defended by the swamp and the wide waters beyond. On thesouthern and western aspects of the camp matters were different, forhere the place was strongly fortified both by art and nature. Firstly, a canal ran round these two faces, not very wide or deep indeed, butimpassable except in boats, owing to the soft mud at its bottom. On thefurther side of this canal an earthwork had been constructed, havingits crest stoutly palisaded and its steep sides planted with a naturaldefence of aloes and prickly-pears. 

So much for the exterior of the place. Its interior was divided intothree principal enclosures. Of these three the easternmost was the siteof the Nest itself, a long low thatched building of wood, in front andto the west of which there was an open space or courtyard, with a hardfloor. Herein were but two buildings, a shed supported on posts and openfrom the eaves to the ground, where sales of slaves were carried on, and further to the north, almost continuous with the line of the Nestitself, but separate from it, a small erection, very strongly builtof brick and stone, and having a roof made from the tin liningsof ammunition and other cases. This was a magazine. All round thisenclosure stood rows of straw huts of a native build, evidently occupiedas a camp by the Arabs and half-breed slave-traders of the baser sort. 

The second enclosure, which was to the west of the Nest, comprisedthe slave camp. It may have covered an acre of ground, and the onlybuildings in it were four low sheds, similar in every respect to thatwhere the slaves were sold, only much longer. Here the captives laypicketed in rows to iron bars which ran the length of the sheds, andwere fixed into the ground at either end. This camp was separated fromthe Nest enclosure by a deep canal, thirty feet in width and spannedat one point by a slender and primitive drawbridge that led across thecanal to the gate of the camp. Also it was protected on the Nest side bya low wall, and on the slave-camp side by an earthwork, planted asusual with prickly-pears. On this earthwork near the gate and littleguard-house a six-pounder cannon was mounted, the muzzle of whichfrowned down upon the slave camp, a visible warning to its occupants ofthe fate that awaited the froward. Indeed, all the defences of this partof the island were devised as safeguards against a possible _emeute_ ofthe slaves, and also to provide a second line of fortifications shouldthe Nest itself chance to be taken by an enemy. 

Beyond the slave camp, lay the garden that could only be approachedthrough it. This also was fortified by water and earthworks, but not sostrongly. 

Such is a brief description of what was in those days the strongestslave-hold in Africa. 

CHAPTER X

LEONARD MAKES A PLAN

The road which Leonard and his companions were following led them to theedge of the main and southernmost canal, debouching exactly opposite thewater-gate that gave access to the Nest. But Otter did not venture toguide them to this point, for there they should be seen by the sentries, and, notwithstanding their masquerade dress, awkward questions mightbe asked which they could not answer. Therefore when they had arrivedwithin five hundred yards of the gate, he struck off to the left intothe thick bush that clothed the hither side of the canal. Throughthis they crawled as best they might till finally they halted near thewater's edge, almost opposite to the south-west angle of the slave camp, and under the shadow of a dense clump of willows. 

"See, Baas, " said the dwarf in a low voice, "the journey is accomplishedand I have brought you straight. Yonder is the house of the YellowDevil--now it remains only to take it, or to rescue the maiden from it. "

Leonard looked at the place in dismay. How was it possible thatthey--two men and a woman--could capture this fortified camp, filled asit was with scores of the most wicked desperadoes in Africa? How was itpossible even that they could obtain access to it? Viewed from far off, the thing had seemed small--to be done somehow. But now! And yet theymust do something, or all their labour would be in vain, and the poorgirl they came to rescue must be handed over to her shameful fate, or, if she chose it in preference and could compass the deed, toself-murder. 

"How on earth!" said Leonard aloud, then added, "Well, Otter, I can tellyou one thing. I have come a long way on this business, and I am notgoing to turn my back to it now. I have never yet turned my back on aventure and I will not begin with this, though I dare say that my deathlies in it. "

"It is all in the hand of to-morrow, " answered Otter; "but it is timethat we made a plan, for the night draws on. Now, Baas, here is a thicktree shaded by other trees. Shall we climb it and look down into thecamp?"

Leonard nodded, and climbing the tree with ease, they peeped downthrough the leafiest of its boughs. All the camp lay beneath them likea map, and Otter, clinging monkey-wise to a branch, pointed out itsdetails to Leonard. He had been a prisoner there, and the memories ofprisoners are long. 

The place was peopled by numbers of men in strange costumes, and ofdifferent nationalities; dealers in "black ivory" of various degree. Perhaps there may have been more than a hundred of them. Some werestrolling about in knots smoking and talking, some were gambling, otherswere going on their business. One group--captains, to judge from therichness of their attire--were standing round the arms-house and peepingthrough a grating in the wall, which they reached by sitting upon eachother's shoulders. This amusement lasted them for some time, till atlength a man, of whom at that distance they could see only that he wasold and stout, came and drove them away, and they broke up laughing. 

"That is the Yellow Devil, " said Otter, "and those men were looking atthe maid who is called the Shepherdess. She is locked up there until thehour comes for her to be sold. They will be the bidders. "

Leonard made no reply; he was studying the place. Presently a drum wasbeaten, and men appeared carrying large tin pails of smoking stuff. 

"Yonder is the food for the slaves, " said Otter again. "See, they aregoing to feed them. "

The men with the pails, accompanied by some of the officers having_sjambochs_ or hide whips in their hands, advanced across the open spacetill they came to the moat which separated the slave camp from theNest, whence they called to the sentry on the embankment to let downthe drawbridge. He obeyed and they crossed. Each man with a bucket wasfollowed by another who bore a wooden spoon, while a third behind themcarried water in a large gourd. Having come to the first of the opensheds, they began their rounds, the man with the wooden spoon ladlingout portions of the stiff porridge and throwing it down upon the groundbefore each slave in turn as food is thrown to a dog. Then the Arab withthe gourd poured water into wooden bowls, that the captives might drink. 

Presently there was a halt, and the officers gathered together todiscuss something. 

"A slave is sick, " said Otter. 

The knot separated, but a big white man with a hippopotamus-hide whipbegan to strike at a dark thing on the ground which did not seem tomove. 

The man ceased beating and called aloud. Then two of the Arabs went tothe little guard-house that was by the drawbridge and brought toolswith which they loosed the fetters on the limbs of the poorcreature--apparently a woman--thus freeing her from the long iron bar. This done, some of the officers sauntering after them, they draggedthe body to the high enclosure of earth and up a short ladder having awooden platform at the top of it, that overhung the deep canal below. 

"This is how the Yellow Devil buries his dead and cures his sick, " saidOtter. 

"I have seen enough, " answered Leonard, and began to descend the treehastily, an example which Otter followed with more composure. 

"Ah! Baas, " he said when they reached the ground, "you are but achicken. The hearts of those who have dwelt in slave camps are strong, and, after all, better the belly of a fish than the hold of a slavedhow. _Wow!_ who do these things? Is it not the white men, yourbrothers, and do they not say many prayers to the Great Man up in thesky while they do them?"

"Be still, " said Leonard, "and give me some brandy. " He was in no moodto discuss the blessings of civilisation as they have often been putinto practice in Africa. And to think that this fate might soon be hisown!

Leonard drank the brandy and sat awhile in silence, pushing up his beardwith his hand and gazing into the gathering gloom with his hawk-likeeyes. Thus he had sat beside his dying brother's bed; it was a pose thathe adopted unconsciously when lost in thought. 

"Come, Soa, " he said at length, "we have travelled here to please you;now give us the benefit of your suggestions. How are we going to getyour mistress out of that camp?"

"Loose the slaves and let them kill their masters, " Soa answeredlaconically. 

"I doubt there is not much pluck in slaves, " said Leonard. 

"There should be fifty of Mavoom's men there, " she replied, "and theywill fight well enough if they have arms. "

Then Leonard looked at Otter, seeking further ideas. 

"My snake puts it into my head, " said the dwarf, "that fire is a goodfriend when men are few and foes are many; also that the reeds yonderare dry, and the sea wind rises and will blow hard before midnight. Moreover all these houses are thatched, and in a wind fire jumps. Butcan a regiment have two generals? You are our captain, Baas; speak andwe will do your bidding. Here one counsel is as good as another. Letfate speak through your mouth. "

"Very well, " said Leonard. "This is my plan; it goes a little furtherthan yours, that is all. We must gain entrance to the Nest while it isstill dark, before the moon rises. I know the watchword, 'Devil, ' anddisguised as we are, perhaps the sentry will let us pass unquestioned. If not, we must kill him, and silently. "

"Good, " said Otter, "but how about the woman here?"

"We will leave her hidden in the bush; she could be of no help in thecamp and might hinder us. "

"No, White Man, " broke in Soa, "where you go I go also; moreover mymistress is yonder and I would seek her. "

"As you like, " answered Leonard, then went on: "we must get betweenthe hut, there is only one, and the low wall that borders the canalseparating the Nest from the slave camp, and, if the drawbridge is upand no other means can be found, we must swim the dike, dispose of thesentry there also and gain the slave camp. Then we must try to free someof the slaves and send them round through the garden into the morass tofire the reeds, should the wind blow strong enough. Meanwhile I proposeto walk boldly into the camp, salute Pereira, pass myself off as aslaver with a dhow at the mouth of the river, and say that I have cometo buy slaves, and above all to bid for the white girl. Luckily we havea good deal of gold. That is my plan so far as it goes, the rest we mustleave to chance. If I can buy the Shepherdess I will. If not, I must tryto get her off in some other way. "

"So be it, Baas, and now let us eat, for we shall need all our strengthto-night. Then we will go down to the landing-place and take ourchance. "

They ate of the food they had with them and drank sparingly of theslave-dealers' brandy, saying little the while, for the shadow of whatwas to come lay upon them. Even the phlegmatic and fatalistic Otter wasdepressed, perhaps because of the associations of the place, which, for him, were painful, perhaps because of the magnitude of theirundertaking. Never had he known such a tale, never had he seen such anadventure as this--that two men and an old woman should attack an armedcamp. Indeed, although he was not acquainted with the saying, Otter'sfeelings would have been correctly summed up in the well-known phrase, "_C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre_. "

As yet the night was intensely dark, and its gloom did not tend toimprove their spirits; also, as Otter had predicted, the wind was risingand soughed through the reeds and willows in melancholy notes. 

So the time passed till it was nine o'clock. 

"We must move down to the landing-place, " said Leonard; "there will soonbe some light, enough for us to work by. "

Then Otter took the lead and slowly, step by step, they crept backto the road and followed it down the shore of the canal opposite thewater-gate. Here was a place where boats and canoes were tied, both forconvenience in crossing the canal to and from the camp and for the useof the slave-dealers when they passed to the secret harbour six milesaway, where the dhows embarked their cargoes. 

They waited awhile. From the Nest came the sound of revelry, and fromthe slave camp there rose other sounds, the voice of groaning broken byan occasional wail wrung out of the misery of some lost creature who laythere in torment. Gradually the sky brightened a little. 

"Perhaps we had better be making a start, " said Leonard; "there is acanoe which will serve our turn. "

Before the words were out of his mouth they heard the splash of oars, and a boat crept past them and made fast to the water-gate twenty yardsaway. 

"Who goes there?" came the challenge of the sentry in Portuguese. "Speakquick or I fire. "

"Don't be in such a hurry with your rifle, fool, " answered a coarsevoice. "The very best of friends goes here. An honest trader calledXavier who comes from his plantation on the coast to tell you all goodnews. "

"Pardon, senor, " said the sentry, "but how was a man to see in the dark, big as you are? What is the news then? Are the dhows in sight?"

"Come down and help us to tie up this cursed boat and I will tell you. You know where the post is, and we can't find it. "

The sentry obeyed with alacrity, and the man called Xavier went on:"Yes, the dhows are in sight, but I don't think that they will get into-night because of this wind, so you may look for a busy day to-morrowloading up the blackbirds. One _is_ in by the way--a small one fromMadagascar. The captain is a stranger, a big Frenchman named Pierre, orhe may be an Englishman for anything I know. I hailed him and found thathe is all right, but I didn't see him. However, I sent him a note totell him that there was fun on here to-night, which was generous of me, as he may be a rival bidder. "

"Is he coming, senor? I ask because, if so, I must look out for him. "

"I don't know: he answered that he would if he could. But how is theEnglish girl? She is to be put up to-night, isn't she?"

"Oh, yes, senor, there will be a great to-do at twelve, when the moon ishigh. So soon as she has been bought, the priest Francisco is to marryher to the lucky man, there and then. The old fellow insists on it;he has grown superstitious about the girl and says that she shall beproperly married. "

Xavier laughed aloud, "Has he now? He is getting into his dotage. Well, what does it matter? We have a good law of divorce in these parts, friend. I am going in for that girl; if I give a hundred ounces for herI will buy her, and I have brought the gold with me. "

"A hundred ounces for one girl! It is a large sum, senor, but you arerich. Not like us poor devils who get all the risk and little profit. "

By this time the men had finished tying up the boat and taking somebaggage or provisions out of her, Leonard could not see which. ThenXavier and the sentry went up the steps together, followed by the twoboatmen, and the gates were shut behind them. 

"Well, " whispered Leonard, "we have learnt something at any rate. Now, Otter, I am Pierre the French slave-trader from Madagascar, and, understand, you are my servant; as for Soa, she is the guide, orinterpreter, or anyone you like. We must pass the gates, but the realPierre must never pass them. There must be no sentry to let him in. Doyou think that you can manage it, Otter, or must I?"

"It comes into my head, Baas, that we may learn a lesson from thisXavier. I might forget something in the canoe, and the sentry might helpme to find it after you have passed the gates. For the rest I am quickand strong and silent. "

"Quick and strong and silent you must be. A noise, and all is lost. "

Then they crept to the canoe which they had selected and loosened her. They embarked and Otter took the paddle. First he let her float gentlydown stream and under cover of the shore for a distance of about fiftyyards. Then he put about and the play began. 

"Now, you fool, where are you paddling to?" said Leonard in a loud voiceto Otter, speaking in the bastard Arabic which passes current for alanguage on this coast. "You will have us into the bank, I tell you. Curse this wind and the darkness! Steady now, you ugly black dog; thosemust be the gates the letter told of--are they not, woman? Hold on withthe boat-hook, can't you?"

A wicket at the gate above rattled and the voice of the sentrychallenged them. 

"A friend--a friend!" answered Leonard in Portuguese; "one who is astranger and would pay his respects to your leader, Dom Antonio Pereira, with a view to business. "

"What is your name?" asked the guard suspiciously. 

"Pierre is my name. Dog is the name of the dwarf my servant, and as forthe old woman, you can call her anything you like. "

"The password, " said the sentry; "none come in here without the word. "

"The word--Ah! what did the Dom Xavier say it was in his letter?'Fiend!' No, I have it, 'Devil' is the word. "

"Where do you hail from?"

"From Madagascar, where the goods you have to supply are in some demandjust now. Come, let us in; we don't want to sit here all night and missthe fun. "

The man began to unbar the door, and stopped, struck by a fresh doubt. 

"You are not of our people, " he said; "you speak Portuguese like acursed Englishman. "

"No, I should hope not; I am a 'cursed Englishman, ' that is half--sonof an English lord and a French creole, born in the Mauritius at yourservice, and let me ask you to be a little more civil, for cross-breddogs are fierce. "

Now at length the sentry opened one side of the gate, grumbling, andLeonard swaggered up the steps followed by the other two. Already theywere through it, when suddenly he turned and struck Otter in the face. 

"Why, Dog, " he said angrily, "you have forgotten to bring up the keg ofbrandy, my little present for the Dom. Go and fetch it. Quick, now. "

"Pardon, Chief, " answered Otter, "but I am a small man and the keg isheavy for me alone--if you will deign to help me, for the old woman istoo weak. "

"Do you take me for a porter that I should roll kegs of cognac up steps?Here, my friend, " he went on addressing the sentry, "if you wish to earna little present and a drink, perhaps you will give this fellow a handwith the cask. There is a spigot in it, and you can try the qualityafterwards. "

"Right, Senor, " said the man briskly, and led the way down the steps. 

A look of dreadful intelligence passed between the dwarf and his master. Then Otter followed, his hand upon the hilt of the Arab sabre which hewore, while Leonard and Soa waited above. They heard the man's heavilybooted feet going down the steps followed by Otter's naked footfall. 

"Where is your keg? I don't see it, " said the sentry presently. 

"Lean over, senor, lean over, " answered Otter; "it is in the stern ofthe canoe. Let me help you. "

There was a moment's pause, to the listeners it seemed hours. Then camethe sound of a blow and a heavy splash. They hearkened on, but nothingmore was to be heard except the beating of their hearts and the distantnoise of revelry from the camp. 

Three seconds passed and Otter stood beside them. In the dim lightLeonard could see that his eyes stared wide and his nostrils twitched. 

"Quick was the blow, strong was the blow, silent is the man for ever, "whispered Otter. "So the Baas commanded, so it is. "

CHAPTER XI

THAT HERO OTTER

"Help me to secure the gate, " said Leonard presently. 

In another minute the great iron bar had been dropped into its place, and Leonard withdrew the key and put it in his pocket. 

"Why do you secure the door, Baas?" whispered Otter. 

"To keep the real Pierre out, in case he should come this way. TwoPierres would be one too many at this game. Now we must win or perish. "

Then they crept along the embankment till they gained the shelter of thehut or barrack-shed which stood with its back to the dike that separatedthe Nest from the slave camp. Happily none saw them, and there were nodogs in the place. Dogs make a noise at inconvenient times, thereforeslave-dealers do not love them. 

The end of the shed behind which they were crouching was situated someeight or ten paces from the drawbridge, that formed the only path ofentry to the slave camp. 

"Baas, " said Otter, "let me go forward and look. My eyes are the eyes ofa cat; I can see in the dark. Perhaps the bridge is down. "

Without waiting for an answer, he crept forward on his hands and kneesso quietly that they could scarcely hear a movement. Notwithstanding hiswhite dress, there was little chance of his being seen, for the shadowof the shed was dense and a fringe of rushes grew along the edge of thedike. 

Five minutes passed--ten minutes passed, and Otter did not return. Leonard's anxiety grew very keen. 

"Let us go and see what happened, mother, " he whispered to Soa. 

They crept along to the end of the shed. Within a yard of it theydiscovered the arms and clothes of Otter. But Otter! Where was he?

"The Black One has deserted us, " said Soa beneath her breath. 

"Never!" answered Leonard. 

By now the clouds were breaking before the wind, which was risingsteadily, and some stars shone out, giving a little light. The dike laydeep between its banks and was not more than twenty feet in width, sothat the air did not ruffle it; moreover, as any observer of nature willhave noticed, the surface of still water is never quite dark, even onmuch blacker nights than this. 

Why had Otter taken off his clothes, Leonard wondered? Evidently thathe might go into the water. And what could he want to go into the waterfor, unless it was that his heart failed him and, as Soa suggested, hehad deserted. But this was impossible, for he knew well that the dwarfwould die first. In his great perplexity Leonard stared at the dike. Now he could see that on its further side rose a flight of wooden steps, protected at the top by gates and that a man was seated on the loweststep, with a rifle beside him, his feet hanging down to within a fewinches of the surface of the dike. It must be the sentry. 

Next instant Leonard saw something else. Beneath the feet of the man aripple grew on the face of the deep water, and something gleamed in theripple like to the flash of steel. Then a small black object projecteditself towards the feet of the sentry, who was half asleep and hummingto himself drowsily. Suddenly he saw the man slide from his seat asthough by magic. He said nothing, but making one ineffectual grasp atsome rushes, he vanished into the deeps below. For a minute or moreLeonard could distinguish a slight disturbance on the surface of thewater, and that was all. 

Now he guessed what had happened. Otter had dived, and rising beneaththe feet of the man, he seized him, and with a sudden movement draggedhim down to death by drowning. Either this, or an alligator had takenhim, and that flash was the flash of his fangs. 

As Leonard thought thus a dark form rose gasping at the foot of thesteps; it drew itself out of the water and slipped stealthily up them. It was Otter, and he held a knife in his hand. Now the dwarf vanishedthrough the gates into the little guard-house at the top of theembankment. Another minute, and ropes began to creak. Then the talldrawbridge, standing upright like a scaffold against the sky, was seento bend itself forward. Down it came very softly, and the slave-camp wasopen to them. Again the black shape appeared, this time on the bridge. 

"Come along, " whispered Leonard to his companion; "that hero Otter hasdrowned the sentry and won the bridge. Stop, pick up his clothes andarms. "

At that moment Otter himself arrived. "Quick, " he said, "come over, Baas, before they see that the bridge is down. Give me my clothes andthe gun. "

"All right, here they are, " answered Leonard, and in another minute theywere over the bridge and standing on the parapet of the slave-camp. 

"Into the guard-house, Baas; the windlass is there, but no man. "

They entered: a lamp was burning in the place. Otter seized the handleof the windlass and began to wind. He was naked, and it was a wonderfulsight to see the muscles starting out in knots on his huge but dwarfishframe as he strained at the weight of the bridge. 

Presently it was up, and, leaning on the handle of the wheel, Otterchuckled aloud. 

"Now we are safe for a time, " he said, "and I will dress myself. Let theBaas forgive me for appearing thus before him--I, who am so ugly. "

"Tell us the tale, Otter. "

"It is short, Baas, " the dwarf replied, as he put on his robe andturban. "When I left you I watched, I who can see in the dark, and in alittle while I saw the guard come down the steps and sit by the edge ofthe water. He was sleepy, for he yawned and lit a roll of paper to smokeit. Presently it went out, and he had no more matches. He looked up tothe house there, but was too lazy to fetch them; then I guessed that hewas alone, for else he would have called to his companion for fire. Nowhe grew sleepier, and I said to myself, 'Otter, Otter, how can you killthis man silently? You must not shoot, because of the noise; and if youthrow a knife or a spear, you may miss, or wound him only. ' And my snakespoke in my heart and answered, 'Otter, Otter, dive, seize his feet, and drag him down swiftly and stamp him into the mud, you who are half afish and can swim as no other man can swim. Do it at once, Otter, beforethe light comes and men can see the drawbridge move. '

"Well, and so I did it, Baas. _Wow!_ I trod him deep into the mire, Itrampled him as an ox tramples corn upon a threshing-floor. Neverwill he come up again. After that I rose and ran into the guard-house, fearing lest there might be another whom I must silence also, for when Iwas a slave two always kept watch. But the place was empty, so I letthe bridge down. Ah! I remembered how it worked. And that is the tale, Baas. "

"A great tale, Otter, but it is not finished yet. Now let us to theslaves. Come, take the light and lead the way. Here we are safe, is itnot so?"

"Here, Baas, we are safe, for none can reach us except by storm, andyonder is the big gun which turns upon itself. Let us twist the gunround first, so that, if need be, we can fire into the camp. "

"I don't know much of cannon, " said Leonard doubtfully. 

"But I know something, White Man, " said Soa, speaking for the firsttime. "Mavoom, my master, has a small one up at the Settlement, andoften I have helped to fire it for practice and as a signal to boats onthe river, and so have many of the men who were carried away, if we canfind them yonder. "

"Good, " said Leonard. 

A path ran along the top of the embankment to the platform on which thegun was mounted. It was a six-pounder muzzle-loader. Leonard unhookedthe rammer and ran it down the muzzle. 

"She is loaded, " he said; "now let us swing her round. "

They did so easily enough, bringing the muzzle down upon the Nest camp;then they entered the little hut which stood alongside. Piled up in it, in case of emergency, were half-a-dozen rounds of grape-shot and powder. 

"Lots of ammunition, if we should want to use it, " said Leonard. "Itnever occurred to those gentlemen that a gun can shoot two ways. Andnow, Otter, lead us to the slaves, quick. "

"This way, Baas, but first we must find the tools; they are in theguard-hut, I suppose. "

So they crept back to the hut, holding their heads as low as possible, for the light was increasing, although the moon was not yet up, and theyfeared lest they should be seen against the sky-line. Here they foundboxes containing nippers, chisels, and other instruments such as areused to undo the irons upon slaves. Also they found the keys of thepadlocks that locked the iron bars to which the captives were tethered. Taking a lantern with them, but leaving another burning as before in thehut, lest its absence should excite suspicion, they passed through twostrong gates and down the steps on the further side of the embankment. Afew paces beyond stood the first slave-shed, a rough erection supportedon posts, but without sides. 

They entered the shed, Otter leading the way with the lantern. In themiddle of it was a path, and on either side of this path ran the longbars to which the captives were fastened in a double row. Perhaps theremight have been two hundred and fifty of them in this shed. Here thesights and scenes were such as need not be described. Of the miserablecaptives some lay on the wet ground, men and women together, trying toforget their sorrows in sleep; but the most part of them were awake, andthe sound of moans ran up and down their lines like the moaning of treesin the wind. 

When they saw the light the slaves ceased moaning, and crouched upon theground like dogs that await the whip, for they thought that this wasa visit from their captors. Some of them, indeed, stretched out theirmanacled hands imploring pity, but these were the exceptions; the mostof them had abandoned hope and were sunk in dull despair. It was pitifulto see the glance of their terror-filled eyes and the answering quiverof their wealed frames whenever an arm was lifted or a sudden movementmade. 

Soa went down the line, rapidly examining the faces of the slaves. 

"Do you see any of Mavoom's people?" asked Leonard anxiously. 

"Not here, White Man; let us go to the next shed, unless you want toloose these. "

"No good in that, mother, " said Otter; "they would only betray us. "

So they went to the next shed--in all there were four--and here at thesecond man who was sleeping, his head bowed on his chained hands, Soastopped suddenly like a pointer dog when he scents game. 

"Peter, Peter, " she said. 

The man awoke--he was a fine fellow about thirty years of age--andglared round wildly. 

"Who called me by my old name?" he said hoarsely. "Nay, I dream, Peteris dead. "

"Peter, " said the woman again, "awake, child of Mavoom; it is I, Soa, who am come to save you. "

The man cried aloud and began to tremble, but the other slaves took nonotice, thinking only that he had been smitten with a scourge. 

"Be silent, " said Soa again, "or we are lost. Loose the bar, Black One;this is a head-man from the Settlement, a brave man. "

Soon the bar was undone, then Otter bade Peter hold out his wrists whilehe twisted off the fetters. Presently they were gone, and in the ecstasyof his recovered liberty the man leaped high into the air, then fell atOtter's feet as though he would embrace them. 

"Get up, you fool, " said the dwarf roughly, "and if there are any moreof the men of Mavoom here, show them to us: quick, or you will soon befast again. "

"There should be forty or more, " Peter answered, recovering himself, "besides a few women and children. The rest of us are dead, except theShepherdess alone, and she is yonder. "

Then they went down the lines slipping the chains from the Settlementcaptives. Soon they had unmanacled ten or more men whom Soa selected, and others stood round them with their hands still chained. As they wentabout the work Soa explained something of the position to Peter, who wasfortunately a native of intelligence. He grasped the situation at onceand earnestly seconded Leonard's efforts to preserve silence and toprevent confusion. 

"Come, " said Leonard to Soa, "we have got enough to begin with. I mustbe off. You can loose the rest at your leisure; the moon is rising, itis a quarter to twelve, and we have not a moment to lose. Now, Otter, before we go, how can we send men to fire the reeds--through thegarden?"

"No, Baas, I have thought of a better way, the way by which I escapedmyself--that is, if these men can swim. "

"They can all swim, " said Soa; "they were bred on the banks of a river. "

"Good. Then they must swim down the dike where I killed the sentry, fourof them. At the end are bars of wood, but in my day they were rotten;at the worst they can be climbed. Then they will find themselves in themorass among thick reeds. But they must not fire these till theyhave worked round to the place of the sunrise, whence the wind blowsstrongly. Then they must go from spot to spot and bend down the driestof the reeds, setting fire to them. Afterwards they can get to the backof the fire and wait till all is done one way or the other. If we winthey will find us, if we are killed they can try to run away. But willthe men go?"

Soa stepped forward and chose four of their number, but Peter she didnot choose, for he also knew something of the working of cannon. 

"Listen, " she said, "you have heard the words of this Black One. Now, obey. And if you depart from them by one jot, may----" and she pouredout so fearful a curse upon them that Leonard stared at her astonished. 

"Ay!" added Otter, "and if I live through this I will cut your throats. "

"No need to threaten, " said one of the men; "we will do our best forour own sakes, as well as for yours and that of the Shepherdess. Weunderstand the plan, but to light reeds we must have fire. "

"Here are matches, " said Otter. 

"Wet matches will not light, and we must swim, " answered the spokesman. 

"Fool, do you then swim with your head under water? Tie them in yourhair. "

"Ah! he is clever, " said the spokesman. "Now, if we live to reach them, when shall we fire the reeds?"

"As soon as you are ready, " answered Otter. "You will not come easily tothe back of them. Farewell, my children, and if you dare to fail, praythat you may die rather than look upon my face again. "

"_Ou!_ We have seen it once, is that not enough?" answered thespokesman, looking at Otter's huge nose with wonder not untouched byfear. 

Two minutes later the four men were swimming swiftly down the dike, taking their chance of the alligators. 

"Drop the bridge, " said Leonard; "we must start. "

Otter lowered it, at the same time explaining its mechanism, which wasvery simple, to Soa, Peter, and some of the other Settlement men. 

"Now, mother, good-bye, " said Leonard. "Loose all the men you can, and keep a keen look-out, so as to be ready to lower the bridge if youshould see us or your mistress coming towards it. If we should notcome by dawn, be ready also, for then we shall probably be dead, orprisoners, and you must act for yourself. "

"I hear you, Lord, " answered Soa, "and I say that you are a brave man. Whether you win or lose, the red stone is well earned already. "

Another minute and they were gone. 

Having crossed the bridge, which was instantly hoisted again, Leonardand Otter avoided observation by creeping back towards the water-gateas they had come--that is, behind the shelter of the shed. Emerging fromthis, they ran a few yards till they were opposite the gate, then walkedleisurely across the open space, a distance of fifty paces or more, tothe thatched hut where the sale of slaves was carried on. 

There was nobody in this hut, but looking between the posts upon whichit was supported, they could see by the light of the moon, now growingmomentarily clearer, that a great and uproarious concourse of people wasgathered beyond in front of the verandah of the Nest itself. 

"Come on, Otter, " whispered Leonard, "we must go among these gentry. Watch me closely, do what I do, keep your weapons ready, and if it comesto blows, get behind my back and fight like a fiend. Above all, don't betaken prisoner. "

Leonard spoke calmly, but his heart was in his mouth, and his sensationswere such as must have been known to Daniel when he went into the lions'den, for, as in the case of the prophet, he felt that nothing short ofa special Providence could save them. They were round the shed now, and immediately in front of them was a mixed gathering ofdesperadoes--Portuguese, Arabs, Bastards, and black men of varioustribes--such as Leonard had never seen in all his experience. 

Villainy and greed were written on every countenance; it was a crew ofhuman demons, and an extensive one. These wretches, most of whom hadalready drunk too freely and were drinking more, stood with their backsto them, looking towards the verandah of the Nest. On the steps ofthis verandah, surrounded by a choice group of companions, all of themgaudily dressed, a man was standing whom Leonard would have had nodifficulty in identifying as the Dom Pereira, even without Otter'swarning whisper of "See! The Yellow Devil!"

This remarkable person demands some description as he stood in glorythat night, at the apex and, though he knew it not, the conclusion ofhis long career of infamy. He was old, perhaps seventy, his hair waswhite and venerable-looking, and his person obese. His black eyeswere small, cunning, cold, and bright, and they had the peculiarityof avoiding the face of any person with whom he chanced to be inconversation, at least when that person was looking his way. Theirglance passed over him, under him, round him, anywhere but at him. 

As his sobriquet suggested, the colouring of Pereira's flesh was yellow, and the loose skin hung in huge wrinkles upon his cheeks. His mouth waslarge and coarse, and his fat hands twitched and grasped continually, asthough with a desire of clutching money. For the rest he was gorgeouslydressed, and, like his companions, somewhat in liquor. 

Such was the outward appearance of Pereira, the fountain-head of theslave-trade on this part of the coast, who was believed in his day tobe the very worst man in Africa, a pre-eminence to which few can hope toattain. Until his face had been seen, stamped as it was with the tracesof long and unmentionable wickedness, few honest men could guess to whatdepths humanity can sink. Some indeed have declared that to see him wasto understand the Evil One and all his works. 

CHAPTER XII

A CHOICE LOT

At the moment of Leonard's and Otter's introduction to his society, theYellow Devil was about to make a speech, and all eyes were fixed on himso intently that none saw or heard the pair approach. 

"Now, my friends, make a path, if you please, " said Leonard in a loudvoice and speaking in Portuguese. "I wish to pay my respects to yourchief. "

A dozen men wheeled round at once. 

"Who are you?" they cried, seeing a stranger. 

"If you will be so kind as to let me pass, I shall be most happy toexplain, " Leonard answered, pushing his way through the throng. 

"Who is that?" cried Pereira in coarse, thick tones. "Bring him here. "

"There, you hear him--let us through, friends, " said Leonard, "let usthrough!"

Thus adjured the throng opened a path, and Leonard and Otter passed downit, many suspicious eyes scanning them as they went. 

"A greeting to you, senor, " said Leonard when they had emerged in frontof the verandah. 

"Curse your greeting! Who in Satan's name are you?"

"A humble member of your honourable profession, " said Leonard coolly, "come to pay his respects and do a little business. "

"Are you? You don't look it. You look like an Englishman. And who isthat abortion, pray?" and he pointed to Otter. "I believe that you arespies, and, by the Saints, if you are, I am the man to deal with you!"

"This is a likely story, " said Leonard laughing, "that one man and ablack dog should venture into the headquarters of gentlemen like you, not being of the cloth. But I think there is a noble gentleman amongyou--I mean the Senor Xavier--who can vouch for me. Did he not send anote to Captain Pierre, whose dhow lies in the harbour yonder, hailingfrom Madagascar? Well, Captain Pierre has the honour of accepting hisinvitation and arrives here, not without difficulty. Now he begins tothink that he would have done better to stick to his ship. "

"That is all right, Pereira, " said Xavier, a huge Portuguese with a dashof negro blood and a villainous countenance, the same man whom they hadfollowed through the gate. "I sent a note to the Senor. I told you ofit. "

"Then I wish you had left it alone, " snarled Pereira for an answer. "Idon't like your friend's looks. He might be the captain of an Englishman-of-war rigged up in our dress. "

At the words "English man-of-war" a murmur of fear and anger wentthrough the assembly. Some of those present had experience of thesehated vessels and their bigoted crews, who loved not this honestcommerce, and to all they were names of ill-omen. Things looked serious, and Leonard saw that he must do something, and quickly. So he lost histemper, or pretended to do so. 

"Curse you all for a pack of suspicious curs!" he said; "I tell you thatmy dhow lies yonder. I am half an Englishman and half a Creole, and asgood a man as any of you. Now look here, Dom Pereira, if you, or anyof your crew, dare to doubt my word, just step out, and I will ram thisdown your lying throat;" and placing his hand on the hilt of his sabre, he took a pace forward and scowled. 

The effect was instantaneous. Pereira turned a little pale beneath hisyellow skin, for like most cruel men he was a great coward. 

"Put up your pig-sticker, " he said; "I see you are one of the rightsort. I only wanted to try you. As you know, we must be careful in ourbusiness. Come and shake hands, brother, and be welcome. I trust younow, and old Antonio never does things by halves. "

"Perhaps you had better try him a little further, " said a young man whowas standing near Pereira, as Leonard prepared to accept the invitation;"send for a slave and let us have the old test--there is none better. "

Pereira hesitated and Leonard's blood turned cold. 

"Look here, young man, " he said more furiously than before, "I have cutthe throats of more men than you have whipped, but if you want a test, I will give you one. Come down, my young cockerel, come down; there isplenty of light for comb-snipping. "

The man turned white with rage, but stood a moment contemplatingLeonard's athletic form and keen eyes. Apparently he found that in themwhich gave him pause, for instead of springing at him, he burst into avolume of threats and filthy abuse. 

How the matter would have ended it is difficult to say, but at thisjuncture Pereira thought it well to interfere, and vigorously. 

"Peace!" he thundered in his great voice, his white hair bristling withrage. "I have welcomed this man, and he is welcome. Is my word to be setaside by a drunken young brawler like you? Shut your ugly mouth or, bythe Saints, I will have you clapped in irons. "

The slave-driver obeyed; perhaps he was not sorry for an excuse toescape the quarrel. At any rate with a scowl at Leonard he dropped backand was silent. 

Harmony being thus restored, Pereira proceeded with the business ofthe evening. First, however, he called Leonard to him, shook him bythe hand, and bade a slave-girl bring him drink. Then he addressed thecompany thus:

"My lambs, my dear companions, my true and trusted friends, this isa sad moment for me, your old leader, for I stand here to bid yougood-bye. To-morrow the Nest will know the Yellow Devil no more, and youmust find another captain. Alas! I grow old, I am no longer up to thework, and trade is not what it was, thanks to those infernal Englishmenand their cruisers, which prowl up and down our waters, seeking to robhonest men of the fruits of their enterprise. For nearly fifty years Ihave been connected with the business, and I think that the natives ofthese parts will remember me--not angrily, oh! no, but as a benefactor. For have not some twenty thousand of their young people passed throughmy hands, rescued by me from the curse of barbarism and sent to learnthe blessings of civilisation and the arts of peace in the homes of kindand indulgent masters?

"Sometimes, not often, but now and again, there has been bloodshed inthe course of our little expeditions. I regret it. But what will you?These people are so obstinate that they cannot see how well it is forthem to come under my wing. And if they try to injure us in our goodwork, why, we must fight. We all know the bitterness of ingratitude, but we have to put up with it. It is a trial sent to us from Heaven, my lambs, always remember that. So I retire with such modest gains asI have won by a life of labour--indeed, they have gone before me, lestsome of you might be put in the way of temptation--to spend the eveningof my day in peace and prayer. 

"And now there is one more little thing. As it chanced during our lastjourney, the daughter of an accursed Englishman fell into our hands. Itook her and brought her here, and as her guardian I have asked you tomeet me to-night, that I may choose her a husband, as it is my dutyto do. I cannot keep her myself, for among the settled people nearMozambique, where I am going to live, her presence might lead to awkwardquestions. So I will be generous and pass her on to another. 

"But to whom shall I give this prize, this pearl, this sweet and lovelymaid? Among so many worthy gentlemen how can I set one above the othersand declare him most deserving of the girl? I cannot, so I must leave itto chance, for I know that Heaven will choose better than I. Thereforeto him who is ready to make the largest present to me I will give thismaid, to comfort him with her love; to make a present, mind you, notto pay a price. Still, perhaps, it will be best that the amount of thedonation should be ascertained in the usual way, by bidding--in ouncesof gold, if you please!

"One condition more, there shall be nothing irregular in this matter, myfriends. The Church shall have its say in it, and he whom I select mustwed the maid, here, before us all. Have we not a priest at hand, andshall we find no work for him? Now, my children, time draws on. Ho! you, bring out the English girl. "

This speech was not delivered quite so continuously as it is printedhere. On the contrary, it was subject to many interruptions, mostly ofan ironical nature, the allusions to "a present" to be given for thegirl and to the proposed marriage ceremony being received with screamsof ribald laughter. 

Now the noise died away, for every eye watched for the appearance ofJuanna. 

In a few moments a figure clad in white and guarded by several men wasseen advancing from the direction of the arms-house. This figure cameon through the moonlight with a swift agile step, looking neither tothe right nor to the left, till it arrived in front of the verandah andhalted. Then it was that Leonard first saw Juanna Rodd. She was verytall and slight, her dark hair was twisted into a single knot at theback of her shapely head, her features were small, her face fair incolouring and somewhat rounded in form. So much he saw at a glance, butit was not until she looked up and round her that Leonard discovered thegirl's peculiar glory, the glory of her eyes. Then and in that light hewas unable to distinguish their colour, a difficult task at any time, for they varied from grey to blue according to the shadows which fellupon them, but he could see that they were wide and splendid, fearlessand yet soft. For the rest she was clad in an Arab robe richly worked, and wore sandals upon her feet. 

Juanna stopped in front of the verandah and searched it with her eyes. Presently they ceased their searching and she spoke in a clear, sweetvoice. 

"What do you want with me now, Dom Antonio Pereira?" she said. 

"My dove, " he answered in his coarse, mocking tones, "do not be angrywith your slave. I promised you, my dove, that I would find a husbandfor you, and now all these gallant gentlemen are gathered for thechoice. It is your marriage-hour, my dove. "

"Dom Antonio Pereira, " the girl answered, "for the last time I plead toyou. I am helpless here among you, and I have done you no injury: let mego unharmed, I pray of you. "

"Let you go unharmed? Why, who would hurt you, my dove?" answered thesatyr. "Yes, that is what I mean to do. I will let you go to a husband. "

"I shall never go to any husband of your choosing, Dom Antonio, " Juannasaid again in a low and steady voice. "Be assured of that, all of you. Ihave no fear of you, for God will help me in my need. And now, as I havepleaded to you for the last time, so for the last time I warn you, DomAntonio, and your wicked companions also. Go on with this iniquity ifyou will, but a judgment awaits you. Death from Heaven above is near toyou, you murderer, and after death, vengeance. "

Thus she spoke, not loud indeed, but with conviction, a power, and adignity of mien that carried terror to the hearts of the most hardenedvillains there. It was at the conclusion of her speech that her eyesfirst met those of Leonard Outram. He was bending forward to listen, and in his grief and anger he had forgotten to preserve the truculentexpression which it was his part to wear. Once more Leonard's face wasthe face of an English gentleman, noble and open, if somewhat stern. 

Their eyes met, and there was that in his which caused Juanna to pause. She looked at him swiftly as though she would read his very soul, andin answer he put all his will and heart's desire into his gaze, the willand the desire that she should know him to be her friend. They hadnever met before, she did not even dream of his existence, and therewas little in Leonard's outward appearance to distinguish him from theruffians by whom he was surrounded. Yet her quick sense, sharpened bydespair, read what was written in his eyes, and read it aright. Fromthat moment Juanna felt that she was not alone among these wolves, thatthere was one person at least who would save her if he could. 

In an instant she had searched his face and dropped her eyes again, fearing lest she should awake suspicion. Then came a pause, for theminds of men were disturbed; she had aroused some remnant of consciencein them, she had called to life a lively terror of vengeance to come, ofvengeance very near at hand. All were affected more or less, but chieflywas he affected to whom she had addressed her words. The Yellow Devilsank back into the chair from which he had risen to speak, a wonderfulchair made of ebony inlaid with ivory, and string-seated, with afootstool attached to it. Superstitious dread took hold of him, and heshivered visibly. 

The scene was one which Leonard never forgot. Above the bright moonshone in the heavens, before him were rank upon rank of evil faces, eachmarked with some new emotion, and standing alone in their midst was thebeautiful girl, proud in the depth of her shame, defiant even in thepower of foes gathered to destroy her. 

For a while the wind had dropped and the silence was deep, so deep wasit that Leonard could hear the mew of a kitten which had crept from theverandah, and was rubbing itself against Juanna's feet. She heard italso, and, stooping, lifted the little creature and held it to herbreast. 

"Let her go!" said a voice from the crowd. "She is a witch and willbring ill-luck upon us. "

At the sound Pereira seemed to awake. With a hideous oath he flunghimself from the chair and waddled down the steps towards his victim. 

"Curse you, you slut!" he said, "do you think to frighten men with yourthreats? Let God help you if He can. The Yellow Devil is god here. Youare as much in my power as this brute, " and he snatched the kitten fromher arms and dashed it to the ground. "You see, God does not help thekitten, and He will not help you. Here, let men see what they are goingto buy, " and gripping the breast of her white robe he rent it open. 

With one hand Juanna gathered up the torn dress, and with the othershe began to do something to her hair. An agony of fear took hold ofLeonard. He knew the story of the poison which she carried: was sheabout to use it?

Once again their eyes met, and there was warning in his glance. Juannaloosed her hair indeed, and let it fall about her shoulders, coveringher rent robe to the waist, but she did no more. Only after this Leonardsaw that she kept her right hand closed, and knew that her death washidden within it. Then she spoke once more to Pereira. 

"In your last hour may you remember these two deeds!" she said, pointingto the writhing kitten and to her torn dress. 

Now slaves drew near to do their master's bidding, but that audiencewould not suffer this. 

"Leave her alone, " they said; "we can see that the girl is fair andperfect. "

Then the slaves hung back, nor did Pereira repeat his commands. 

Returning to the verandah, he stood by the chair, and, taking an emptyglass in his hand by way of an auctioneer's hammer, he began:

"Gentlemen, I am going to offer you a very choice lot, so choice thatit makes up all the sale. The lot is a white girl, half English and halfPortuguese by blood. She is well educated and devout; as to her docilityI can say nothing, that will be for her husband to attend to. Of herbeauty I need not speak; you can all see it yourselves. Look at thatfigure, that hair, those eyes; have any of you known their equal?

"Well, this lot will be sold to him among you who is inclined to makeme the largest present in compensation; yes, he may take her this veryhour, and my blessing with her. But there are conditions: he whom Iapprove must be lawfully married to the girl by the priest Franciscohere, " and turning he pointed to a small melancholy-looking man, with awomanish face and dark blue eyes, who stood in the background, clothedin a somewhat tattered priest's robe. "Then I shall have done my duty byher. One more thing, gentlemen: we are not going to waste time in littlebids; the upset price will be thirty ounces. "

"Silver?" said a voice. 

"Silver? No, of course not. Do you think you are bidding for a niggergirl, fool? Gold, man, gold! Thirty ounces of gold, and payment to bemade on the nail. "

There was a groan of disappointment, and one ruffian cried out:

"What are we poor fellows to do? Thirty ounces for a beginning! Where isour chance?"

"What are you to do? Why, work hard at your profession, and grow rich, of course! Do you suppose that these prizes are for the poor? Now then, the fair is open. Who bids for the white girl Juanna? Thirty ounces isoffered. What advance, what advance?"

"Thirty-five, " said a wizened little man with a hectic cough, who lookedfitter for a burial than a bridal. 

"Forty!" cried another, a pure-bred Arab of stately appearance andsaturnine expression, who wished to add to his harem. 

"Forty-five, " answered the wizened man. 

Then the Arab bid fifty, and for a while it seemed that these two alonewere competitors. When the bids had reached seventy ounces the Arabmuttered "Allah!" and gave up. He preferred to wait for the houris. 

"Knock her down, " said the wizened man, "she is mine. "

"Hold on a bit, my little friend, " said the great Portugee, Xavier, whohad passed the water-gate before Leonard and his companions. "I am goingto begin now. Seventy-five. "

"Eighty, " said the little man. 

"Eighty-five, " answered Xavier. 

"Ninety, " screamed the other. 

"Ninety-five, " said Xavier. 

"A hundred, " yelled the small man, snapping his fingers. 

"A hundred and five, " replied Xavier, triumphantly capping his bid. 

Then with a curse his antagonist gave up also, and the mob shouted, thinking that Xavier had won. 

"Knock her down, Pereira, " said Xavier in his turn, as he surveyed hisprize with affected nonchalance. 

"Wait a moment, " put in Leonard, speaking for the first time. "I amgoing to begin now. A hundred and ten. "

The multitude shouted again, the contest was growing exciting. Xavierglared at Leonard and bit his fingers with rage. He was very near hislimit of possible expenditure. 

"Now then, " cried Pereira, licking his lips for joy, since the pricehad already run twenty ounces higher than he expected, "Now then, friendXavier, am I to knock down this beauty to the stranger captain Pierre?It sounds a lot, but she is cheap at the price, dirt cheap. Look at herand bid up. But mind, it is cash down--no credit, no, not for an ounce. "

"A hundred and fifteen, " said Xavier, with the air of a man making hislast throw for fortune. 

"A hundred and twenty, " replied Leonard quietly. 

He had bid to the last ounce in his possession, and if Xavier wentfurther he must give in, unless, indeed, he chose to offer Soa's ruby inpayment. This, needless to say, he was not anxious to do; moreover, no one would believe a stone of that size to be genuine. Of all this, however, Leonard showed nothing in his face, but turning coolly hecalled to a slave-girl to bring him spirits and busied himself withfilling his glass. His hand never trembled, for he knew well that hisantagonist was watching for a cue, and if he showed uncertainty allmight be lost. But in his heart, Leonard wondered what he should do ifanother ounce was bid. 

Meanwhile the spectators were shouting encouragement, and Pereira wasurging Xavier to increase his offer. For a while the Portugee hesitated, surveying Juanna, who stood pale and silent, her head bowed upon herbreast. At this juncture Leonard turned, the glass still in his hand. 

"Did you make any advance, senor?" he asked. 

"No, curse you! Take her. I will not put down another ounce for her orany woman on the earth. "

Leonard only smiled and looked at Pereira. 

"Going!" said that worthy; "the white girl, Juanna, is going to thestranger Pierre for one hundred and twenty ounces of gold. Going! Come, Xavier, don't lose her. If you do you will only be sorry once, and thatwill be always. Now, for the last time, " and he lifted his glass in hishand and paused. 

Xavier made a step forward and opened his lips to speak. 

Leonard's heart stood still, but presently the Portugee changed his mindand turned away. 

"_Gone!_" screamed Pereira, bringing the glass down so heavily on thearm of his chair that it flew into fragments. 

CHAPTER XIII

A MIDNIGHT MARRIAGE

"Gone, " said Pereira again. "Now, friend Pierre, before we ratify thismatter by the aid of holy Church, perhaps you will table the gold. Thisis a cash transaction, remember. "

"Certainly, " answered Leonard. "Where is that black dog of mine, thedwarf? Ah! there he is. Dog, weigh out the stuff; if you have notenough, here is more. " And he unbuckled his belt, from which he had beencareful to extract the ruby, and threw it to Otter. 

"Now, gentlemen and companions, " he went on, "for I hope that we may dobusiness together by and by, drink my health and my bride's. I havepaid pretty dear for her, but what of it? A gentleman of our professionshould always be ready to back his fancy, for if his is apt to be ashort life he may as well make it a merry one. "

"She will think the better of you, and you of her for it, " crieda voice. "Here is to Captain Pierre and the girl. " And they drank, shouting aloud in their half-drunken merriment. 

Meanwhile Otter, advancing with obsequious steps, was pouring handfulafter handful of gold coin and ingots into the large scales whichPereira caused to be held before him. At length all the gold was in, ashining heap. 

"The balance does not turn, " said Xavier; "I claim the girl. "

"Baas, " said Otter in a low voice, and speaking in Dutch, "have you moregold? The weight is short. "

Leonard glanced carelessly at the scales: they were trembling on theturn. 

"As much as you like, " he said, "but here is what will do it. "

And drawing off his signet ring he threw it on the pile. The rubyexcepted, it was the last thing of value that he had about him. Then thescale vibrated and sank down. 

"Good, " said Pereira, rubbing his hands at the sight of so muchtreasure. "Bring me the acid that I may test the stuff. No offence, stranger Pierre, but this is a wicked world, in which brass has passedfor gold before to-day. "

The acid was brought and the ingots were tested at hazard, Pereiraholding them up to the light of a lamp. 

"They are good, " he said. "Now, Father, do your part. "

The priest Francisco stepped forward. He was very pale and seemedterrified. Leonard, watching him, wondered what had brought him intosuch company, for the man's face was good and even refined. 

"Dom Antonio, " said the priest in a soft girlish voice, "I protestagainst this. Fate has brought me among you, though not of my ownwill, and I have been forced to bear the sight of much evil, but I havewrought none. I have shriven the dying, I have ministered to the sick, Ihave comforted the oppressed, but I have taken no share of the price ofblood. I am a priest of our holy Church, and if I wed these two beforethe sight of men, they will be husband and wife till death, and I shallhave set the seal of the blessing of the Church upon an act of shame. Iwill not do it. "

"You will not do it, you shaveling traitor?" screamed Pereira in a voicehoarse with rage. "Do you want to follow your brother then? Look here, my friend, either you obey me and marry these two or----" and he hisseda horrible threat. 

"NO, no, " said Leonard, anxious to find an escape from this abominablemockery. "Let him be. What do the cheat's prayers matter? The lady and Ican do without them. "

"I tell you, stranger, that you shall marry the girl, and this snivellermust marry you. If you don't, I will keep both her and the gold. And asfor him, he can choose. Here, slaves, bring the _sjamboch_. "

Francisco's delicate face flushed pink. "I am no hero that I can sufferthus, " he said; "I will do your bidding, Dom Antonio, and may Godforgive me the sin! For you, Pierre and Juanna, I am about to make youman and wife, to join you in a sacrament that is none the less holy andindissoluble because of the dreadful circumstances under which it iscelebrated. I say to you, Pierre, abandon your wickedness, and love andcherish this woman, lest a curse from heaven fall upon you. I sayto you, Juanna, put your trust in God, the God of the fatherless andoppressed, who will avenge your wrongs--and forgive me. Let water bebrought, that I may consecrate it--water and a ring. "

"Here, take this one, " said Pereira, lifting Leonard's signet ring fromthe pile of gold. "I give it back for a luck-penny. "

And he tossed the ring to the priest. 

Water was brought in a basin, and the father consecrated it. 

Then he bade Leonard stand by the girl and motioned to the crowd to fallback from them. All this while Leonard had been watching Juanna. Shesaid no word, and her face was calm, but her eyes told him the terrorand perplexity which tore her heart. 

Once or twice she lifted her clenched right hand towards her lips, thendropped it without touching them. Leonard knew but too well what deedshe meditated. He knew also the deadly nature of the drug she carried. If once it touched her tongue! The suspense was terrible. He could bearit no longer; even at the risk of discovery he must speak with her. 

In obedience to the priest's direction he sauntered to her sidelaughing. Then, still laughing, with his hand he separated the tressesof dark hair, as though to look at the beauty of her side face, and bentdown as if to kiss her. 

She stood pale and rigid, but once more her hand was lifted towards hermouth. 

"Stop, " he whispered swiftly into her ear, speaking in English, "I havecome to rescue you. Go through with this farce, it means nothing. Then, if I bid you, run for the drawbridge into the slave-camp. "

She heard, a light of intelligence shone in her eyes, and her hand fellagain. 

"Come, stop that, friend Pierre, " said Pereira suspiciously. "What areyou whispering about?"

"I was telling the bride how beautiful I think her, " he answeredcarelessly. 

Juanna turned and flashed on him a well-simulated glance of hate andscorn. Then the service began. 

The young priest was gifted with a low and beautiful voice, and by thelight of the moon he read the ritual of marriage so solemnly that eventhe villains who stood round ceased their jokes and sneers and weresilent. All things were done in order, though Juanna made no replyto the usual questions. With much sham courtesy the loathsome Pereirapresided over the ceremony--their hands were joined, the ring was setupon Juanna's finger, the blessing was pronounced, and it was finished. 

All this while Leonard stood like a man in a dream. He felt as though hewere really being married; it even came into his mind, as he looked uponthe loveliness of the mock bride at his side, that a worse fate mightbefall him. Then of a sudden he woke from his reverie--the farce wasplayed, now they must strive to escape. 

"There, that is done with, Dom Antonio, " he said, "and I think I heardthis lady whisper that with your permission we will bid you good-bye. Mycanoe----"

"Nonsense, you will stop here to-night, " said Pereira. 

"Thanks, I think not, " answered Leonard. "To-morrow I may return to do alittle business of another kind. I have a commission for about fifty, ata good price for the right sort. "

As Leonard spoke thus, glancing to the east, he saw dense masses ofvapour rising into the air far away. The damp reeds were fired at last. The Settlement men had not failed in their task, and soon the flameswould be discovered; he must be gone and swiftly. 

"Well, if you must, you must, " answered Pereira, and Leonard observedthat he looked relieved as he said it. He did not know the reason at thetime. It was this: Juanna had told him that the man who bought herwould find his death in it. He had a superstitious fear of the girl, andbelieved her; therefore he was glad that her purchaser should go, lestit might be said that he had murdered him in order to retain both thewoman and her price. So he bade him farewell, and Leonard turned todepart, followed by Otter and Juanna, whom he led by the hand. 

All might have gone well for that time had it not been for an unluckychance. Leonard's scheme was to walk towards the water-gate, but, if nobetter plan of reaching it should offer, to turn suddenly and run forthe drawbridge, where Soa and the others would be waiting, and thence, with or without the people of Mavoom, to escape up the banks of theZambesi. 

Already he had started when the great Portuguese, Xavier, who waswatching plunged in sullen thought, stepped forward. "At least I willhave a kiss for my trouble, " he said, and seizing Juanna round thewaist, he drew her towards him. 

Then it was that Leonard forgot his caution, as under such circumstancesa man, with nerves already strained to breaking point, well might do. Doubling his fist, he struck the giant in the face with such force thatXavier fell headlong to the ground, dragging Juanna after him. Leonardwould have done better had he suffered her to be insulted, but just thenhe remembered only that he was protecting a helpless girl. 

Juanna was up in a moment and at his side. Xavier also sprang to hisfeet, cursing with fury and drawing his sabre as he rose. 

"Follow me, " said Leonard to Juanna and Otter. Then without more ado hetook to his heels. 

A shout of laughter went up from the mob. 

"This is the brave man. This is the French fire-eater, " they cried. "Hestrikes unawares and is afraid to fight. " Nor did they stop at words. All of them were jealous of the stranger, and would have rejoiced to seehim dead. 

"Stop him!" they shouted, and many of the men started, running like dogsto turn a hare. 

Still Leonard might have won through, for he was swift of foot. Butneither Juanna nor Otter could run so fast as he, and his pace mustbe their pace. Before he had gone a hundred yards he found himselfconfronted by a dozen or more of the slavers, some of whom had knives intheir hands. 

"Stop, coward, stop and fight, " they yelled in Portuguese and Arabic, waving their weapons in his face. 

"Certainly, " answered Leonard, wheeling round and glancing about him. 

There, not thirty yards away, was the drawbridge of the slave camp, andhe thought that he saw it tremble, as if it was about to fall. At hisside were Otter and Juanna, and towards him, his hideous face redwith blood, rushed the great Portugee, sabre aloft, and screamingimprecations. 

"Otter, " Leonard said quickly, as he drew his sword, "guard my back, forwhen I have killed this one the rest will spring. For you, young lady, reach the bridge if you can. Soa and your people are there. "

Now Xavier was upon him with a rush. He struck furiously, and Leonardavoided the blow, springing backwards out of his reach. Twice more herushed on thus and twice he smote, but each time Leonard ran backwardtowards the drawbridge, that now was not more than twenty yards away. A fourth time the Portugee came on, and the Englishman could not repeathis tactics, for the mob hemmed him in behind. On sped Xavier and smotehis hardest: Leonard saw the steel gleam in the moonlight and lifted hissword to guard. The blow fell, fire sprang from it in sparks, and downrattled fragments of shattered steel. His sword was broken. 

"Fight on, Baas, " said the voice of Otter, "fight on! Both swords havegone. "

Leonard looked up. It was true: the Portugee was casting aside hisbroken weapon and clutching at his knife. Now Leonard had no knife, andat the moment he never thought of his revolver. But he still held thehilt of his sword, and with it he sprang straight at Xavier, who rushedto meet him. 

They met with a dull shock as bull meets bull. Leonard struck one blowwith the broken sword-hilt, then dropped it--it was useless. But thestroke did him good service, for, falling on the right hand of thePortugee, it paralysed his arm for a second, causing him to let fall thedagger. Then they gripped each other, fighting desperately with theirnaked strength alone. Twice the huge Portugee lifted the Englishmanfrom the ground, striving to throw him, while the crowd yelled withexcitement, but twice he failed. Not for nothing had Leonard learntwrestling as a lad and hardened his iron muscles by years of toil. Xavier may have weighed sixteen stone and Leonard did not weighthirteen, but his arms were like bars of steel and he was struggling fordear life. 

He waited awhile, letting the Portugee exhaust himself in efforts tohurl him to the ground. Then suddenly tightening his grip, Leonard putout all his strength. He could not hope to lift the man, that he knew, but he might throw him. With a sudden movement he hooked his right legbehind Xavier's left calf. Then he cast his weight forward and pushedwith all his strength upon the great man's breast. 

Xavier tottered, recovered himself, tottered again, and strove to shifthis leg. Leonard felt the movement and met it with a supreme effort. Losing his balance, his foe swayed slowly backwards like a falling tree, then fell with a thud that shook the ground. It was a gallant throw, andeven the "ranks of Tusculum" as represented by the slave-drivers "couldscarce forbear to cheer. " Now Leonard lay upon the breast of the man, for he was dragged to earth with him. 

For a moment his enemy was still, breathing stertorously, for the shockof their fall had been great. Leonard looked round; there, some eightfeet away, was the knife, and he who could grasp it must win this deadlygame. But how could he grasp it? Xavier, whose strength and powerswere coming back, still hugged him in his fearful grip; he also saw theknife, and would win it. Rapidly, by instinct almost, Leonard measuredthe distance with his eye. There was but one plan, to roll to it. Thefirst roll would leave him undermost, but the dagger would still be outof Xavier's reach. Then, could he succeed in turning him upon his backonce more, Leonard would be uppermost again, and if he was able to freehis hand it might grasp the weapon. It was a terrible risk, but hemust take it. He lay motionless awhile, husbanding his force, and thePortugee surged and heaved beneath him; he could feel the muscles of hismighty frame start up in knots as he struggled. At last Leonard lethim have his way, and over they went, the two of them. Now Xavier wasuppermost, and the mob yelled in triumph, for they thought that thestranger's strength was spent. 

"The knife, the knife!" gasped Xavier, and one of his servants sprangforward to give it to him. But Otter was watching and started out of thepress, naked sabre in hand: his fierce and ugly face was twitching withexcitement, his black eyes shone, and his vast shoulders worked to andfro. To Juanna, fascinated by the fearful struggle, the dwarf lookedlike some black gnome, like a thing of supernatural power, half toad, half human. 

"He who touches the knife dies!" he said in guttural Arabic, stretchinghis long arm and sabre over it. "Let these cocks fight it out, mymasters. "

The man shrank back: he also was afraid of Otter, deeming him uncanny;nor did any other interfere. 

Now came the moment of death or victory. As he could not reach theweapon, with a sudden movement Xavier freed his right hand and graspedthe Englishman's throat; but to do this he must lessen the pressure onhis breast. Leonard felt the grip, and the knowledge that his end wasat hand renewed his powers. Twice he writhed like a snake, gripping theground with the muscles of his back and legs; once he swung his frame tothe right, then a vast effort, and lo! Xavier turned slowly over like alog of wood, and again Leonard lay upon his breast. 

Leonard lay upon his breast, and his right arm was free and within reachof the dagger. But the giant's grasp of his throat was cruel; the blooddrummed in his ears and his senses began to fail. No, he would not diethus and leave the girl helpless. Where was it? He was blind, he couldsee nothing but her white face. He must get free--ah, he knew now!

They thought that he was spent: see! his head fell, when suddenly helifted himself and heaved up his arm. 

Crash it came full on the forehead of Xavier, that in its turn waspillowed on the stony earth. The grip slackened. Crash again, a fearfuland despairing blow! Leonard's throat was free, and the air rushed intohis bursting lungs. Now he could see and grasp the knife, but therewas no need to use it. The great man beneath him flung his arms wide, shivered, and grew still. 

Then it was, while men paused wondering at those awful blows, thatJuanna, mindful of her deliverer's bidding, turned and fled, sick atheart but unhindered, to the edge of the ditch opposite the drawbridge. Otter also rushed up and dragged Leonard from the ground. 

"_Wow!_" he cried, "a good fight and a great blow! Dead, by my mother'sspirit, and no touch of steel. Awake, my father, awake! for if the boaris down the pigs remain!"

Leonard heard his words dimly and knew their import. With an effort heceased to stagger and rested his weight upon the dwarf, much as a manmight lean upon some sturdy post. His breath came back to him and hismind cleared. He looked round and saw Juanna standing near the bridgelike one who hesitates whether to fly or stay. 

"Sirs, " gasped Leonard, "I have fought and I have won. Now let me go inpeace with the girl. Is the man alive?"

A ring of men had crowded round the body of Xavier, and in their centreknelt the priest Francisco. At this moment he rose and said:

"It is useless to minister to him; he is no more. "

The slavers looked at Leonard with awe not unmixed with admiration. Whohad ever seen such a thing, that one whose strength had been a bywordshould be slain with the naked fist? They forgot that it is easy to killthe man whose head rests upon a stone. 

Presently, however, their wonder gave way to rage. Xavier had beena favourite among them, and they were not minded that he should dieunavenged. So they drew round Leonard scowling and cursing. 

"Stand back, " he said, "and let me pass. I fought your friend fairly;had I wished to take advantage of him, should I not have used this?" Andfor the first time he remembered and drew his Colt, the sight of whichcooled their ardour somewhat, for they gave way. "Perhaps you will giveme an arm, Father, " Leonard went on, speaking to the priest, who wasstanding by. "I am much shaken. "

Francisco complied, and they started towards Juanna, Otter guardingtheir rear with his sabre. Before they had gone ten yards, however, Pereira waddled towards them after a hasty consultation with one of hiscaptains. 

"Seize that man, " he shouted; "he has killed the worthy Dom Xavier:having first insulted him, he has slain him by violence, and he mustanswer for it. "

A dozen ruffians sprang forward at his bidding, only to be met by thesabre and pistol of Otter, with neither of which were they anxiousto make a closer acquaintance. Leonard saw that the position was verygrave, and a thought came into his mind. "You wish to escape from thisplace, Father?" he said rapidly to the priest. 

"Yes, " answered Francisco, "it is a hell. "

"Then lead me as swiftly as you may to that bridge; I am hurt and weak, but there is succour beyond. "

As he spoke the drawbridge, which was not ten yards away, fell with acrash. 

"Run across, Juanna Rodd, " cried Leonard in English. 

She hesitated, then obeyed. It seemed to Leonard that the look upon herface said, "How can I leave you?"

"Now, Father, " said Leonard, "make a rush for it, " and leaning on thepriest's shoulder he stumbled towards the bridge. But he would neverhave reached it had it not been for Otter. 

"Treason!" roared Pereira; "stop him! Who let down the bridge?"

A man came on the attack; it was the same young captain that Leonardhad offered to fight before the auction. In his hand was a knife alreadyuplifted to fall on Leonard's back when Otter's sabre flashed and theman went down. 

"Seize the bridge and hold it, " roared Pereira again. 

"Wind up! wind up!" yelled Otter in answer, as with sabre and pistol heheld back the mob. 

Those on the further side obeyed with such a will that Leonard and thepriest rolled down the slanting planks. 

"Otter!" cried Leonard--"good God! he will be killed!"

By way of answer Otter fired the last barrel of his pistol. Then witha yell, before his foes could close upon him he sprang like a wild catstraight at the iron chains of the bridge, which were used to secureit in its place when needful. At the moment they hung four feet or moreabove his head, but he grasped them and shouted to Soa to hoist away. 

A man attempted to seize his legs, but Otter kicked him in the faceand he fell into the water. Next second he was out of their reach andrapidly rising high into the air. Some threw knives and some firedpistol-shots after him, but none of these touched him. 

"Ah! Yellow Devil, " the dwarf cried as he swung, "look behind you: thereis another devil, yellower and fiercer than you. "

Pereira turned and all his company with him, and at that moment, witha crackling roar, a vast sheet of flame burst up from the morass. Thereeds had caught at last in good earnest, and the strengthening wind wasbringing the fire down upon them. 

CHAPTER XIV

VENGEANCE

"Treachery! treachery!" screamed Pereira. "The reeds are fired, and thatwitch has betrayed us. "

"Ha! ha! ha! ha!" cried Otter again from his airy perch. "Treachery!treachery! And what if the slaves are loosed? And what if the gates bebarred?"

Hitherto the mob had been silent in their fear and wonder. There theystood closely packed, a hundred or more of them, staring first at Otter, then at the advancing flames. Now they found tongue. 

"He is a fiend! Kill him! Storm the slave camp! To the gates!" theyyelled in this language and in that. 

For many it was their last earthly cry, since at that moment a sheet offlame burst from the rampart of the camp, followed by the boom ofthe cannon, and six pounds of canister swept through the crowd. Rightthrough them it swept, leaving a wide lane of dead and dying; and such ashriek went up to heaven as even that place of torment had never heard. 

Then they broke and fled this way and that, screaming curses as theywent. 

When Leonard and the priest had rolled down the rising bridge they foundJuanna standing safely by the guard-house, surrounded by some of theSettlement men. 

"To the gun!" he cried, "to the gun! Fire into them! I will follow you. "

Then it was that he saw Otter left to his death and called out in fear. But Otter saved himself as has been told, and clambered down the bridgesafe and sound. 

Leaning on the dwarf and Francisco, Leonard, followed by Juanna, staggered along the earthwork to the place where the gun was mounted. Before he had gone a step he caught sight of the figure of Soa, outlinedin bold relief against the background of the fire and surrounded by manyof the freed Settlement men. At the instant when he saw her she was inthe act of springing back from the breech of the gun, the lanyard in herhand. Then came the roar of the shot and the shriek of the smitten. 

"_Wow!_" said Otter, "the old woman has not been idle. She is clever asa man, that one. "

Another minute and they were helping to reload the piece, that is, except Soa, who was on her knees kissing Juanna's hands. 

"Come, stop that!" said Leonard, sinking to the ground, for he wasutterly exhausted. "Those devils have gone for their arms. They will tryto storm us presently. Is the shot home, Peter? Then run her out, sharp;and you, Soa, screw her nose down. " Next he bade the freed slaves armthemselves with stakes or anything that they could find, for of riflesthey had but four, two of which they had found in the guard-house. 

Presently the slavers came on with a yell, carrying long planks, by thehelp of which they hoped to cross the dike. 

"Look out!" said Leonard, "they are going to open fire. Under theearthwork, every man of you!" And seizing Juanna who was standing near, he pulled her down into cover. 

It was not too soon, for next instant a storm of bullets swept overthem. Most of the men had understood and taken shelter, but some weretoo slow or too stupid. Of these one fell dead and two more were hit. Soa and Peter alone took no heed, and yet they remained unhurt. Therestood the woman, while the bullets whistled round her, laying the gun ascoolly as though she had served in the Royal Artillery, and with her wasthe head-man, Peter. Peter was shot through the waist-cloth and a ballcut its way through Soa's grizzled hair, but neither of them seemed tonotice these trifles. 

"They are mad, Baas, " cried Otter, who was watching the enemy over thetop of the embankment. "See! they are coming across the open. "

Leonard looked. The dwarf was right: in their rage and hurry theslavers, half hidden in a cloud of smoke caused by their rapid firing, were advancing across the clear space instead of creeping along the edgeof the dike. What was more, the necessity of carrying the planks causedthem to pack in groups. Soa gave a final twist with her lever andwaited, her hand on the lanyard. A bullet cut it in two, but withoutfiring the gun, and she grasped the shortened cord. 

"Now for it!" cried Leonard, as the first party came into the line offire. 

Soa sprang backwards with a yell: again the piece thundered out, and thecanister screamed through the air. It tore along the advancing files, then, striking the beaten earth, rebounded and caught those who werefollowing with the ricochet, and with awful effect. Whole groups weremowed down by this one discharge, the destruction being twice as largeas that caused by the first shot, for at this greater range the canisterfound room to spread. Also the rebounding missiles flying hither andthither among the crowd did no little execution. Down went the men inheaps, and with them the planks they carried. They had no more wishto storm the slave camp; they had but one thought left, the thought ofsafety, and the survivors of them fled in all directions, yelling withfear and fury. 

"Load up, load up!" cried Otter, lifting the charge of powder which layat hand. "They will try to break open the gates and get out, then theywill cut us off. "

As he spoke they saw many men run from the auction-shed to thewater-gate. But it could not be climbed, the key was gone, and themassive bolts and beams were not easy to break. So they brought hammersand a tree-trunk which had supported an angle of the shed, and batteredat the gate. For two minutes or more it held, then it began to give. 

"Swift! swift!" cried Otter again as he dragged at the cannon to turnit, "or all will yet be lost. "

"Hurry no man's ox, Black One, " said Soa, as she laid the gun with thehelp of Peter. 

A cry went up from the slavers; the gate was tottering, but it stillheld by the upper hinges. A few more blows and it must surely fall. Butthose blows were never struck. Again Soa sprang backwards, and the roarof the gun was answered by the screams of the slavers as the shrapnelploughed through them. 

Of those who were left the most part fled for shelter to the auction-hutand to the Nest itself. Some ran across to the magazine, but appeared tobe unable to enter it, for soon they were seen flying back again, whileabout a dozen of the boldest remained at the gate trying to complete itsdestruction. On these Leonard and Otter opened fire with rifles, butit was not until three or four of them had fallen that the rest fled tojoin their companions beneath the shelter of the sheds. 

"Oh! look, look!" said Juanna, pointing to the east. 

It was indeed a spectacle never to be forgotten. 

The dense reeds, measuring twelve to fifteen feet in height, had beenfired far to the east of the Nest, and as the wind gathered to a galeand the fire got firmer hold, it rolled down upon the doomed place inbillows and sheets--a sea of flame that sometimes spouted high into theair and sometimes ran swiftly along the ground. 

The reeds crackled and roared like musketry as the fire ate into them, giving out thick volumes of smoke. At first this smoke had passed abovethe spectators, now it blew into their faces, half choking them andblotting out the sky, and mixed up with it were showers of sparks andfragments of burning reeds brought forward on the wind. 

"The house and sheds will soon catch now, " said Leonard; "then they musttake refuge in the open spaces, where we can deal with them, " and henodded towards the gun. 

As he spoke tongues of flame darted into the air, first from the thatchof the shed, then from the roof of the Nest. They were afire. 

"We must be careful, Baas, " said Otter, "or the slave-shelters behind uswill burn also, and all those in them. "

"Heavens! I never thought of that, " answered Leonard. "Here, Father, ifyou wish to do a good work, take some of these people and the bucketsthey use to water the slaves. Let three or four men get on to each roofand extinguish the sparks as they fall, while others bring them waterfrom the moat. "

The priest sprang up and set to the task, at which he laboured gallantlyfor two long hours. Had it not been for his efforts, the sheds and theslaves in them must have been burnt, for the sparks fell thick upon thedry thatch, which caught again and again. 

Now the sights and sounds grew more and more fearful. Maddened withfear, the remainder of the slave-drivers and their servants rushed fromthe flaming buildings, striving to escape from the fire. Some flungthemselves desperately into the aloes and prickly-pears on the innerrampart, and, climbing the palisade beyond, escaped into the marsh, while some collected on the open space, and at these the gun was firedfrom time to time when the smoke lifted. Others again ran to the dike ofthe slave camp begging for mercy, there to be shot by Otter, who neverwearied in his task of revenge. From behind them also rose the hideouscries of the slaves, who believed that they were about to be burnedalive, and screamed as they dragged at their manacles. 

"Oh, it is like hell!" said Juanna to Leonard, as she buried her facein the grass that she might see no more, and to escape the suffocatingsmoke. She was right. 

So the time went on. One by one the roofs of the various buildings fellin, and spouts of flame shot high into the air to descend about themin a rain of sparks. But at last the cries ceased, for even the slavescould yell no more; the fire grew less and less, and the wind dropped. Then the sun rose on the scene of death and desolation. The morasswas swept bare to the depth of many hundred yards, and the camp was asmoking ruin strewn with the dead. The walls of the Nest still stood, however, and here and there a charred post remained. Everything else wasgone, except the magazine, which had escaped the flames, being built ofbrick and stone, and roofed with tin. 

The adventurers looked around them in silence, then they looked ateach other. What a spectacle they presented in the clear light ofthe morning, as they stood by the gun which had done them such signalservice! All were begrimed with smoke and powder, and their clothes wereburnt by the falling sparks. Leonard's throat was a mass of bruises, hishands and face were bleeding, and he was so stiff and hurt that he couldscarcely move. Soa's hair was singed and cut by the bullet which hadshaved her head; the priest's robe hung in charred threads, and hishands were blistered with fire; Juanna's broidered Arab dress, torn bythe brutal hand of Pereira, scarcely retained a trace of white, and herlong dark locks were tangled and powdered with bits of blackened reed. All were utterly exhausted--that is, all except Otter, who advancedto speak to Leonard, begrimed and stripped to the waist, but fresh andfierce as ever. 

"What is it, Otter?" he asked. 

"Will the Baas let me take these men, " and he nodded towards the freedslaves who had belonged to the Settlement, "and hunt through thecamp yonder? Many of the devils still live, and wounded snakes strikehardest. "

"As you like, " answered Leonard. "Arm them with anything you can find, and search the camp thoroughly. But be careful. "

In ten minutes Otter was gone with the men. Then Leonard and the othersfetched water and washed as best they might, the guard-house beingassigned to Juanna and Soa, who made their toilet with the help of acomb they found in it. There also they discovered food, the rations ofthe sentry, of which they ate with such appetite as they might, and aplentiful supply of meal for the slaves. 

As they were finishing their breakfast Otter returned unharmed, thoughof the men who accompanied him five were missing. With him also were twoof the four Settlement men who had been sent to fire the reeds on theprevious night. They were much exhausted, for their task had been noeasy one, and fortunately for Leonard it was only after long delay thatthey succeeded in it. Their two companions were dead: one had been takenby an alligator in the water, and the other had fallen into a deep holein the morass, and, striking his head against a log, was drowned there. 

"Is it finished?" said Leonard to the dwarf. 

Otter nodded. "Some are dead and some are fled, " he answered; "but fromthese last we have little to fear, for they believe that an army hascome against them. Still that is not all the tale, Baas. We have takenone of them alive. Come and look at him, Baas. "

Leonard clambered up the steps of the embankment, followed by theothers. On its further side stood the group of Settlement men who hadreturned from scouring the camp, thin and haggard fellows, scarred bythe slave-irons, but very fierce-looking. In their midst a white mancrouched upon the ground, moaning with terror and misery. Just then helifted his face--it was that of the Yellow Devil himself. There lay thataged Iniquity, that hoary Shame caught at last in his own snares. 

"Where did you find him, Otter?" asked Leonard as they crossed thedrawbridge. 

"In the magazine, Baas, and your gold with him, also many rifles andmuch powder. He had locked himself up there, but he had not the heart tofire the powder and make an end. "

Pereira did not see them as yet, but raising his head he begged forwater. 

"Give him blood, " said one of the men sullenly. "He has drunk it all hisdays, let it be his last drink. "

Leonard motioned to Francisco the priest to bring water, then Pereirasaw them and began to pray for mercy. 

"Antonio Pereira, " Leonard answered sternly, "last night I and twocompanions, a woman and a black dwarf, set ourselves a task--to takethis armed place of yours and rescue a white girl whom you had condemnedto slavery. It did not seem possible that we should do it, but betweensunset and sunrise we have done it. Who helped us then?--that we shouldhave carried out this thing which was impossible. I will tell you; Godhelped us as He helped this lady when she called on Him. Cry to God, then, to do that which is still more impossible--to help you. From meyou will have justice and no more. "

For a moment Pereira ceased whining, and a flash of the old ferocitycame into his eyes. 

"Ah! my friend, " he muttered, "if I had but known!" Then turning toJuanna he said: "My dove, have I not treated you kindly? Will you say noword for me, now that my enemies prevail against me?"

By way of answer Juanna looked first at the human reptile before her, and next at the bosom of her torn dress, now roughly pinned up with thespikes of aloe leaves. Then she turned and went. 

"Baas, " said Otter, "may I speak?"

"Speak on, " Leonard answered. 

"Hearken, Yellow Devil, " said the dwarf. "Ten years ago you took me, andI lay in this camp a slave; yes, in yonder shed. Here are the marks ofthe irons--your own seal. Ah! you have forgotten the black dwarf, orperhaps you never noticed him; but he remembers. Who could forget you, Yellow Devil, that once had slept beneath your roof? I escaped, but asI fled I swore that, if I might, I would bring vengeance upon you. Theyears went by, and the hour came at last. I led Baas to this place. Ifound you this morning, and we are not parted yet, Yellow Devil. Whatdid you boast last night--that you had sent twenty thousand of us blackpeople to slavery? Yes, and for every one that you have sold you havekilled five--old men white with years, women with child, little childrenat the breast, you have murdered them all. Ah! yes, I have seen youlaugh and kill them before the eyes of their mothers, as last night youkilled the kitten. 

"And now your time has come at last, Yellow Devil, and I, Otter thedwarf, will give you to drink of your own medicine. What! you cry formercy, you who never gave it even in a dream? I tell you, did my chiefyonder bid me loose you, I would disobey him even to force; I, who wouldrather die than put aside his word on any other matter. 

"Look now at these men, " and he pointed to the Settlement people, whoglared hungrily at the crouching wretch, much as hounds glare at a foxthat is held aloft by the huntsman; "look at them! Do you see mercy intheir eyes? They, whose fathers and mothers you have murdered, whoselittle children you have stamped to death? _Wow!_ Yellow Devil, thewhite men tell us of a hell, a place where dead people are tormented. Weknow nothing of that, it is for the white people, and they may keepit all to themselves. Now you are beginning to taste that hell ofyours--only beginning, Yellow Devil. 

"Baas Leonard, I demand this man to be tried by us and dealt withaccording to our customs, for it is against us black folk that he hassinned most of all, and we ask his blood in payment for our blood. "

"What!" howled Pereira, "am I to be given over to these black dogs?Mercy! Mercy! Francisco, plead for me. Shrive me. I know I killed yourbrother, I had to do it. Plead for me!" and he rolled in the dust, trying to clasp Leonard's feet. 

"I cannot shrive you, " answered the priest shuddering, "but I will prayfor you. "

Then the hungry-eyed natives pounced upon Pereira to drag him thence, but Leonard broke through them saying:

"I will have none of your savage cruelties here. Let the man be shot ifyou will, but no more. "

As it chanced, however, Pereira was not destined to die by the hand ofman, for even as Otter gripped him he turned livid, threw up his arms, groaned, and fell to the earth. 

Leonard looked at him; he was dead, dead through the fear of death, forterror had stopped the beating of his wicked heart. 

"The Shepherdess prophesied truly, " cried Otter presently, "for theHeavens above have robbed us of our vengeance. _Wow!_ it is hard, but atleast this one shall work no more evil. "

"Carry it away, " said Leonard with a shudder, for the dead man's facewas ghastly to behold. Then turning to him as if nothing had happened, he added:

"Otter, take these men and loose the rest of the slaves; then get theammunition, rifles, and stores from the arms-house and bring them to thewater-gate. We must clear out of this place at once, or we shall havethe escaped slavers and the crews of the dhows down upon us. "

Thus then did fate at last find out Antonio Pereira, the Yellow Devil. 

CHAPTER XV

DISILLUSION

Once more it was morning, and the travellers were encamped by that reedypoint where they had left the big boats which they cut loose from theisland. From the earliest dawn Leonard had been superintending thetransport across the river of the hundreds of slaves whom they hadreleased. They there were put on shore by the Settlement men, providedwith a store of meal, and left to shift for themselves, it being foundutterly impossible to take them any further. 

"There, they are gone, " said Otter, as the last boat-load set out underthe charge of Peter. "Well, let them go, the silly sheep. So much theless trouble for us, who, although we have a Shepherdess, can scarcelylead so large a flock. Well, we have pulled the Missie yonder out of theSlave Nest, and the Yellow Devil--ah! we have talked with him and allhis crew. And now are we to go on to win the gold--the real YellowDevil, Baas?"

"I suppose so, Otter, " answered Leonard--"that is, if Soa keeps herword. But it isn't gold, it is rubies. At any rate we must make for theSettlement below Sena, to take these men back and see if we can hearanything of Mavoom. "

"So, " said Otter after a pause. "Well, the Shepherdess, as theseSettlement people call her, will want to find her father. Say, Baas, sheis proud, is she not? She looks over our heads and speaks little. "

"Yes, Otter, she is proud. "

"And she is beautiful; no woman was ever so beautiful. "

"Yes, Otter, she is beautiful. "

"And she is cold, Baas; she does not say 'thank you' nicely for all thatyou have done. "

"Perhaps she thinks it the more, Otter. "

"Perhaps she thinks it the more. Still, she might say 'thank you' toyou, Baas, who are her--husband. "

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, Baas, that you bought her first, according to our custom, andmarried her afterwards according to your own, and if that does not makeher your wife, nothing can. "

"Stop that fool's talk, " said Leonard angrily, "and never let me hearyou repeat it. It was only a game that we played. "

"As the Baas desires, so be it. I do but speak from my heart when I saythat she is your wife, and some might think that not so ill, for she isfair and clever. Will the Baas rise and come to the river to bathe, thathis soreness may leave him?"

Leonard took the suggestion, and came back from his bath a new man, forrest and the cold water had acted on him like magic. He was still stiff, indeed, and remained lame in one leg for ten days or more, but, with theexception of an aching of the throat where Xavier had gripped him, noother ill effects were left. Among the booty of the slave camp wasa good supply of clothing, flannel shirts, corduroy suits, and hats. Casting aside the rags of the Portuguese uniform in which he haddisguised himself, Leonard put on some of these articles and reappearedin the camp dressed like an ordinary English colonist, roughly indeed, but becomingly. 

Meanwhile Juanna had also been making her toilet, with the help ofSoa, who took this opportunity to tell her mistress the history of hermeeting with Leonard Outram. But, either from design or because sheforgot to do so, she did not at this time tell her about the agreementwhich had been entered into between them. As yet Soa had never spokenfully to her mistress of her early life or of the mysterious People ofthe Mist from whom she sprang, though she had taught her the languagethey spoke. Perhaps, for reasons of her own, she did not think this afavourable occasion on which to begin the story. 

When Soa had finished Juanna fell into a reverie. She remembered thatshe had expressed no gratitude to Mr. Outram for his heroic rescue ofher. Yet in her heart she was grateful enough. But for him she must nowhave been dead, and the world of light and love would have closed itsgates upon her for ever. Still, mixed up with her gratitude and earnestadmiration of the deed of heroism which had been wrought for her sake, was another feeling, a feeling of resentment and alarm. This stranger, this dark, keen-eyed, resolute man had bought her as a slave; more, hehad gone through a form of marriage with her that was not all a form, for it had been solemnly celebrated by a priest, and there on her fingerwas the memorial of it. Of course it meant nothing, but the thought ofit angered her and offended her pride. 

Like other women, Juanna Rodd had not come to twenty years of agewithout dreaming of love, and, strange to say, her fancy had alwayschosen some such man as Leonard for the hero of the story. But that thehero should present himself in this ultra-heroic fashion, that he shouldbuy her with gold, that he should go through a form of marriage withher within an hour of their first meeting--for these things she hadnot bargained. It was a fact--that marriage was an accomplished fact, although it might be null and void, and the female mind has a greatrespect for accomplished facts. To a woman of Juanna's somewhat haughtynature this was very galling. Already she felt it to be so, and astime went on the chain of its remembrance irked her more and more, acircumstance which accounts for much of her subsequent conduct. 

Thinking such thoughts as these, Juanna strolled back towards the campalong a little pathway in the reeds, and suddenly came face to face withLeonard. She was clad in a white Arab robe, part of the loot, which shehad adapted cleverly to the purposes of a dress, fastening it round herslender waist with an embroidered scarf. She wore no hat, and her richdark hair was twisted into a great knot that shone in the sunlight. Inher hand she held some crimson lilies which she had gathered, that madea spot of colour on the whiteness of her dress. The look of hauntingterror was gone from her face, whose beauty had come back during hersleep; her changing eyes shone beneath their dark lashes, and she movedwith the grace of a fawn. 

Seen thus in that pure and pearly light against the green backgroundof the feathered reeds, nothing could have seemed more sweet and lovelythan did this girl, this child of the forest and the river, who mingledin herself the different beauty of the Saxon and the Spaniard, ripenedby the African sun and dignified by the long companionship of Nature. There was a grace about her movements, a purity in her face, a mysteryin the wide eyes and curved and smiling lips, such as Leonard had neverseen before, and which overcame him utterly. Alas for the fickleness ofthe human heart! from that moment the adoration of his youth, the dreamof his lonely years of wandering, Jane Beach, began to grow faintand fade away. But though this was so, as yet he did not admit it tohimself; indeed, he scarcely knew it. 

Juanna looked up and saw him standing before her, proud and handsome, an air of command upon his thoughtful face, deep-chested, bearded, vigorous, a man amongst men. She saw the admiration in his eyes andblushed, knowing that, do what she would to prevent it, it was reflectedin her own. She remembered all that this stranger had done for her, howhe had risked his life a hundred times, how she would now have beendead and unlovely were it not for his intrepid deeds, and remembering, something stirred at her heart. 

Was it gratitude that moved her thus? She did not know; but whatever itwas, she turned her head that he might not read it on her face. Anothermoment, and she was holding out her hand to him and smiling pleasantly. 

"Good morning, " she said, "I hope that you have slept well, and that youhave no bad news. "

"I spent eight hours in a state of absolute stupor, " he answeredlaughing, "and there is no news at all to speak of, except that I havegot rid of those slaves, poor creatures. I fancy that our friends, theslave-dealers yonder, have had enough of our company, and are scarcelylikely to follow us. "

Juanna turned a shade paler, and answered:

"I trust so. At least I have had enough of them. By the way, Mr. Outram, I--I--have to thank you for a great deal;" here her eyes caught thegleam of the gold circlet on the third finger of her left hand--"thisring belongs to you, I will return it at once. "

"Miss Rodd, " said Leonard gravely, "we have passed through a verystrange adventure together; will you not keep the ring in remembrance ofit?"

Her strong impulse was to refuse. While she wore this ring the thoughtof that hateful scene and still more hateful mockery of marriage wouldbe always with her. And yet, as the words of prompt refusal were onher lips, a feeling, an instinct, almost a superstition caused themto remain unspoken. "You are very kind, " she said, "but this is yoursignet-ring--is not that what you call it? You cannot wish to give it toa chance acquaintance. "

"Yes, it is my signet-ring, and if you will look at the crest and mottoyou will see that they are not inappropriate. And I do wish to give iteven 'to a chance acquaintance, ' Miss Rodd, if you will allow me no moreintimate term. "

"I have looked at them, " she answered, as she examined the ringcuriously. It was of plain and somewhat massive gold, and deeply cutinto the shield-faced bezel was the Outram crest, a hand holding a drawnsword, beneath which the motto was engraved. "What is the last word ofthe motto?" she went on; "it is so rubbed that I cannot read it--'ForHome, Honour----'"

"'And Heart, '" said Leonard. 

Juanna blushed, though why the word "heart" should make her blush sheknew not. 

"Well, I will wear the ring, if you wish it, Mr. Outram, in memoryof our adventure--that is, until you ask it back again, " she saidconfusedly; then added with a change of tone: "There is one detailof the adventure that I hope you will not allude to more than you canavoid, for the recollection of it is most painful to me, probably moreso even than to you. "

"I suppose you mean the ceremony of marriage, Miss Rodd. "

"I mean the wicked and abominable farce in which we were made to playa part, " she answered passionately. "Most of the witnesses of thatshameful scene are dead and cannot speak of it, and if you will keepyour servant the dwarf silent I will do the same by Father Francisco. Let it be forgotten by both of us. "

"Certainly, Miss Rodd, " said Leonard, "that is, if anything so strangecan be forgotten. And now, will you come to breakfast?"

She bowed her head in assent and swept past him, the red lilies in herhand. 

"I wonder what hold she has over that priest, " thought Leonard tohimself, "that she talked of being able to keep him silent. By the way, I must find out whether we are to have the pleasure of his company. Iwould rather be without him myself. A strange girl! One can account forher beauty, she inherited that; but it is difficult to understand themanner. By rights she should be a half-wild hoyden, but I never saw anEnglish lady with more grace and dignity. Perhaps I have forgotten;it is so long since I associated with ladies, or perhaps, like beauty, these are natural to her. After all, her father seems to have been agentleman of birth, and people who live with nature may have everyfault in the calendar, but they cannot be vulgar. That is the gift ofcivilisation. "

When he reached the camp, Leonard found the priest talkingconfidentially to Juanna. 

"By the way, Father, " he said somewhat brusquely, "as you see, I havegot rid of those slaves. It was impossible to take them with us, and nowthey must shift for themselves: at any rate, they are better off thanthey were yonder. What are your plans? You have behaved well to us, butI cannot forget that we found you in bad company. Perhaps you wish toreturn to it, and in that case your way lies eastward, " and he noddedtowards the Nest. 

"I do not wonder that you distrust me, senor, " said Francisco, hispale and girlish face colouring as he spoke, "for appearances are muchagainst me. But I assure you that although I came into the company ofAntonio Pereira by my own will, it was for no evil purpose. To be brief, senor, I had a brother who fled hither from Portugal because of a crimethat he had committed, and joined Pereira's band. With much toil Itracked him out, and was welcomed at the Nest because I am a priestwho can comfort the sick and shrive the dying, for wickedness does notconsole men at the last, senor. I persuaded my brother to return withme, and we made a plan to escape. But Pereira's ears were long: we werebetrayed, and my brother was hanged. They did not hang me, because ofmy calling. Afterwards I was kept a prisoner and forced to accompanythe band in their expeditions. That is all the story. Now, with yourpermission, I will follow you, for I have no money and nowhere else togo in this wilderness, though I fear that I am not strong enough to beof much service, and being of another faith you will scarcely need myministrations. "

"Very well, Father, " answered Leonard coldly, "but please understandthat we are still surrounded by many dangers, which any treacherymight cause to overwhelm us. Therefore I warn you that should I detectanything of the sort my answer to it will be a quick one. "

"I do not think that you need suspect the Father, Mr. Outram, " saidJuanna indignantly. "I owe him a great deal: had it not been for hiskindness and counsel, I should not be alive to-day. I am most deeplygrateful to him. "

"If you vouch for him, Miss Rodd, that is enough. You have had theadvantage of a closer acquaintance than I can boast, " Leonardanswered gravely, mentally contrasting the difference of her manner inacknowledging the priest's services and his own. 

From that hour till a certain conversation opened his eyes, struggleas he would against it, Leonard disliked Francisco. He had a foolishBritish aversion to his class, and Juanna's marked partiality towardsthis particular individual did not lessen it in this instance. Prejudiceis a strong thing, and when it is heightened by suspicion and jealousy, especially jealousy of the unacknowledged kind, it becomes formidable, both to him who entertains it and to him against whom it is entertained. 

When their meal was done they proceeded up the river in the boats whichthey had captured from the slavers, each boat being rowed by the bestoarsmen among the Settlement men. Including women and children theirparty numbered some sixty souls. At evening they passed the island wherethey had left the company of slavers, but could see no sign of life uponit, and never learned whether the men perished or escaped. 

An hour later they encamped upon the bank of the river, and it was whilethey were sitting round the fire at night that Juanna told Leonard ofthe horrors which she had undergone during her dreadful sojourn with theslave caravan. She told him also how she had torn leaves from theBible which she chanced to have with her, and fixed them upon the reedswhenever she could find an opportunity of so doing, in the hope thatthey might guide her father, should he return and attempt her rescue. 

"It is all like a nightmare, " she said; "and as for that hideous farceof marriage with which it ended, I can scarcely bear to think of it. "

Then Francisco, who had been sitting silent, spoke for the first time. 

"You speak, senora, " he said in his subdued voice, "of that 'hideousfarce of marriage, ' and I suppose you mean the ceremony which Iperformed between you and the Senor Outram, being forced to the act byPereira. It is my duty to tell you both that, however irregular thismarriage may have been, I do not believe it to be a farce. I believethat you are lawfully man and wife until death shall part you, unlessindeed the Pope should annul the union, as he alone can do. "

"Nonsense, nonsense, " broke in Leonard; "you forget that there wasno consent; that we are of another religion, and that the form wasnecessary to our plot. "

"The Church knows nothing of the reasons which lead to the undertakingof wedlock, " Francisco answered mildly. "They are various, and many ofthem would not bear investigation. But you were married without any openprotest on your part, on Portuguese territory, according to Portuguesecustom, and by a duly qualified priest. The fact that you are of theProtestant religion, and were united by the Catholic ritual, doesnot matter at all. For the purposes of the ceremony you accepted thatritual, as is customary when a Protestant marries a Catholic. It isdisagreeable for me to have to tell you this, but the truth remains: Ibelieve that you are man and wife before Heaven and the world. "[*]

 [*] The Editor does not hold himself responsible for Father Francisco's views on ecclesiastical marriage law. 

Here Juanna jumped to her feet, and even in that light Leonard could seethat her breast was heaving and her eyes shone with anger. 

"It is intolerable that I should be forced to listen to suchfalsehoods, " she said, "and if you ever repeat them in my hearing, Father Francisco, I will not speak to you again. I utterly repudiatethis marriage. Before the ceremony began, Mr. Outram whispered to me togo through with the 'farce, ' and it was a farce. Had I thought otherwiseI should have taken the poison. If there is any foundation for what theFather says, I have been deceived and entrapped. "

"Pardon, senora, " replied the priest; "but you should not speak soangrily. The Senor Outram and I only did what we were forced to do. "

"Supposing that Father Francisco is right, which I do not believe, "said Leonard, with sarcasm, "do you think, Miss Rodd, that such a suddenundertaking would be more to my liking than to yours? Believe me, hadI wished to 'deceive and entrap' you, I could not have done so withoutinvolving myself, since, if the marriage is binding, it is binding onboth parties, and even such a humble individual as I am does not takea wife on the faith of a five minutes' acquaintance. To be frank, Iundertook your rescue for purposes far other than those of matrimony. "

"Might I ask what they were?" replied Juanna, in a tone of equalacerbity. 

"Certainly, Miss Rodd. But first I must explain that I am noknight-errant. I am an almost penniless adventurer, and for urgentreasons of my own I seek to win fortune. Therefore, when the womanyonder, " and he pointed to Soa, who was sitting watching them justout of range of the firelight, "came to me with a marvellous tale of acountless treasure of rubies, which she promised to reveal to me if Iwould undertake the little matter of your rescue, and when she even paiddown a specimen stone of considerable value on account, having nothingbetter to do and nowhere to go, being in short desperate, I consented. Indeed, I did more, I took the precaution of reducing the matter towriting, I being one contracting party, and Soa, acting on her ownbehalf and as your attorney, being the other. "

"I have not the least idea to what you allude, nor did I ever giveSoa any authority to sign documents on my behalf. But may I see thiswriting?"

"Certainly, " Leonard answered; and rising he went to the baggage, whencehe returned presently with a lantern and the prayer-book. 

Juanna placed the lantern beside her and opened the book. The firstthing that she saw was a name on the fly-leaf, "Jane Beach, " and beneathit this inscription, which evidently had been written by some one in agreat hurry: "To dearest Leonard from Jane. 23 Jan. "

"Turn over, " he said hastily; "the document is on the other side. "

She was not slow to note both the writing and the confusion which herperusal of it caused him. Who was Jane Beach, she wondered, and why didshe call Mr. Outram "dearest Leonard"? In a moment, so strange are thehearts of women, Juanna felt herself much prepossessed against her, whoever she might be. But she turned the leaf and read the agreement. It was a pretty sight to see her bending over the cramped writing inthe circle of the lantern light, but when at length she had finishedand looked up, there was a smile upon her lovely face which had more ofscorn in it than was pleasant. 

"Come hither, Soa, " she said, "and tell me what all this nonsense meansabout rubies and the People of the Mist. "

"Shepherdess, " answered Soa, squatting down on the ground before her, "it is not nonsense. The language which I taught you when you werelittle is that of this people. It is a true tale, though hitherto I havehid it from you and your father, Mavoom, lest Mavoom should seek towin the precious stones and come to his death through them. Listen, Shepherdess, " and she repeated the outlines of the story with which shehad already made Leonard acquainted, ending thus:

"I told this tale to the White Man because I saw that he was greedy, after the fashion of his race, and my strait was desperate. For thisreason I bribed him with the red stone, and with the promise that Iwould lead him to the land of the People of the Mist, for had I not doneso he would never have used his wit or put out his strength to rescueyou from the Yellow Devil. Therefore it was also that I marked thispaper on your behalf and my own, knowing well that I had no right tospeak for you, and that by and by you could refuse to abide by it, though I am bound. "

"Frank, at any rate, " said Leonard to himself. "What an attorney the oldlady would have made!"

"Say, Soa, " asked Juanna, "to succeed in the search for these stones isit necessary that I should act a part among your people?"

"I can see no other way, " she answered. "But what of that? You are free, and what I promised on your behalf is nothing. Let the White Man gowithout his reward, it will save him a long journey. "

"Attorney!" murmured Leonard in admiration; "she ought to beAttorney-General. "

"_Wow!_ The wicked old cheat!" put in Otter. "If I had my way I wouldbreak her neck, though she is so clever with the big gun. "

Juanna took no notice of these asides. For the moment she remained inthought, then looked up smiling. 

"Really, " she said, "this is a capital legal document. But oh! Mr. Outram, why did you dispel my illusions? You see, I had been making upsuch a romantic story out of this adventure. You were the knight-errant, and I was the Christian maiden in the hands of the ogre, and when youheard of it you buckled on your armour and started to the rescue. Andnow you bring me down to the nineteenth century with a run. 

"It is not knight-errantry, but a commercial transaction: I am indifficulty, but by playing a certain undefined part you believe thatI shall be able to help you to secure treasure; therefore you agree toundertake the risk. I am ignorant of what I am to do, for as yetnobody has explained it to me, but you need have no fear, I shall notrepudiate, as Soa suggests with so much candour. Certainly I shall trymy best to help you in this business, if I can, for you have worked hardand endangered your life, Mr. Outram, and I am sure that you haveearned your money, or rather the prospect of it. Really it is all veryamusing, " and she laughed merrily. 

As for Leonard, he sat before her, mad with secret wrath and burningwith shame. What a fool he had been thus to expose himself to the shaftsof this girl's tongue--this girl, whose beauty was only equalled byher malice! He wished that his hand had withered before he wrote thataccursed document. But now the only thing to do was to face it out. 

"I am glad that you see me in my true light at last, Miss Rodd, " hesaid. "It simplifies matters. I entered into that agreement because itseemed to give me a remote chance of attaining my end, which is money. It does not quite follow, however, that I should not have attempted yourrescue had there been no agreement; but, of course, I cannot expect youto believe that. "

"I assure you, Mr. Outram, that I am deeply obliged to you for yourcaution. It has lifted a great weight from my mind, for if in any way Ican help you to obtain possession of the valuables of this People of theMist I shall have paid off an obligation which at present crushes me. "

"We shall have to start early to-morrow morning, so with your permissionI think that I will be turning in, " said Leonard, springing up withsingular alacrity. 

Juanna watched him go with innocent eyes, and as he passed she saw bythe firelight that his face was like a thunderstorm. "I have made himangry this time, " she thought to herself, "and I am glad of it. Whatbusiness had he to rescue _me_ for money? But he is a strange man, andI don't think that I quite understand him. I wonder who Jane Beach is. I suppose that she wants the money. Women generally do, or at least theydid in Durban. "

Then she spoke aloud: "Soa, come here while I undress, and tell me againall about your meeting with Mr. Outram, and what he said, forgettingnothing. You have put me to shame, Soa, with your talk, and I will neverforgive you. Tell me also how I can help to win the treasure of thePeople of the Mist!"

CHAPTER XVI

MISUNDERSTANDINGS

For some days after the acrimonious conversation that has been reported, the relations between Leonard and Juanna were not a little strained, although the necessities of travel brought them into continual contact. Both felt that they had cause of complaint against the other, andboth were at heart somewhat ashamed of the part which they had played. Leonard regretted ever having made the agreement with Soa, and Juanna, now that she had cooled down a little, regretted having spoken as shedid upon the subject. Her pride was offended; but, after all, how couldhe know? Besides, he was an adventurer, and it was natural that heshould make terms. Doubtless also his anxiety to win fortune had to dowith the lady whose name was written in the prayer-book. 

Perhaps this lady was only a maiden aunt, but a great desire seizedJuanna to know about her; and when such a wish enters the heart of womanit is probable that she will find a means to satisfy it. Having no oneelse to ask, Juanna sounded Otter, with whom she was on friendly terms, only to find that the subject of Jane Beach did not interest the dwarf. He hazarded a remark, however, that doubtless she was one of the Baas'swives when he lived in his big kraal over the water. 

This disgusted Juanna somewhat, but the allusion to a "big kraal"excited the curiosity, of which she had a certain share, and veryadroitly she questioned the dwarf concerning it. He rose to the flywithout hesitation, and told her that his master had been one of thegreatest men in the world, and one of the richest, but that he losthis possessions through the wicked arts of foemen, and was come to thiscountry to seek new ones. 

Indeed Otter enlarged upon the theme, and, anxious to extol his belovedchief's worth in the eyes of the Shepherdess, it would not be too muchto say that he drew upon his own imagination. Leonard, he declared, hadowned country as wide as a horse could gallop across in a day; moreover, he had two hundred tribesmen, heads of families, who fed upon oxenkilled for them--twenty oxen a week; and ten principal wives had calledhim husband. Juanna asked for the titles of the wives, whereon theundefeated Otter gave them all Kaffir names, not neglecting to describetheir lineage, personal charms, and the number and sex of theirchildren. The tale took about two hours to tell, and after hearing itJuanna conceived a great respect for Otter, but she saw clearly thatif she wished for reliable information she must obtain it from Leonardhimself. 

It was not till the last day of their journey that Juanna found theopportunity she sought. The voyage had been most prosperous, and theyexpected to reach the ruined Settlement on the morrow, though whether ornot they would find Mr. Rodd there was a matter of anxious conjecture, especially to his daughter. Day after day they rowed and sailed up thegreat river, camping at night upon its banks, which would have beenpleasant had it not been for the mosquitoes. But all this while Leonardand Juanna saw little of each other, though they met often enough. Onthis particular occasion, however, it chanced that they were journeyingin the same boat, alone, except for the rowers. 

Possibly Juanna had contrived that it should be so, for as a generalrule, in pursuit of his policy of avoiding a disagreeable young person, Leonard travelled with Otter in the first boat, while Juanna wasaccompanied by Francisco and Soa in the second. To the priest, indeed, she made herself very agreeable, perhaps to show Leonard how charmingshe could be when she chose. She conversed with him by the hour togetheras though he were a woman friend, and his melancholy eyes would lightenwith pleasure at her talk. Indeed Francisco had something of thefeminine in his nature; his very gentleness was womanly, and his slightstature, delicate hands and features heightened this impression. In facehe was not unlike Juanna herself, and as time went on the resemblanceseemed to grow. Had he been arrayed in a woman's loose attire, it wouldhave been easy to mistake one for the other in the dusk, although shewas the taller of the two. 

The accident of his profession caused Juanna to admit Francisco to anintimacy which she would have withheld from any other man. She forgot, or did not understand, that she was playing a dangerous game--that afterall he was a man, and that the heart of a man beat beneath his cassock. Nobody could be more charming in her manner or more subtle in her mindthan Juanna, yet day by day she did not hesitate to display all herstrength before the unfortunate young priest, which, in addition toher beauty, made her somewhat irresistible, at any rate on the Zambesi. Friendship and ignorance of the world were doubtless at the bottom ofthis reprehensible conduct, but it is also possible that unconsciouspique had something to do with it. She was determined to show Leonardthat she was not always a disagreeable person whom it was well to avoid, or at least that others did not think so. That all these airs and gracesmight have a tragic effect upon Francisco never occurred to her till toolate. 

Well, for once the order of things was changed; Leonard and Juanna satside by side in the first boat. The evening was lovely, they glidedslowly by the reed-fringed bank, watching the long lights play upon thesurface of the lonely river, listening to the whistling wings of thecountless wildfowl overhead, and counting the herds of various game thatroamed upon the plains beyond. 

For a while neither of them spoke much. Occasionally Juanna wouldcall her companion's attention to some water-flower or to a great fishdarting from the oars, and he would answer by a word or nod. His heartwas wroth with the girl, as Otter would have said; he wondered whyshe had come with him--because she was tired of the priest perhaps. Hewished her away, and yet he would have been sorry enough had she gone. 

For her part Juanna desired to make him speak, and did not know how tobreak through his moody silence. Suddenly she leaned back in the boatand began to sing in a rich contralto voice that moved him. He had neverheard her sing before, had never heard any good singing for many yearsindeed, and he was fond of singing. The song she sang was a Portugueselove-song, very tender and passionate, addressed by a bereaved lover tohis dead mistress, and she put much expression into it. Presently sheceased, and he noticed that her beautiful eyes were full of tears. Soshe could feel!

"That is too sad, " she said with a little laugh, and then burst intoa Kaffir boat-song, of which the Settlement natives, joyous in theprospect of once more seeing their home, took up the chorus gleefully. Presently she wearied of the boat-chant. "I am tiring you, " she said; "Idare say that you do not care for singing. "

"On the contrary, Miss Rodd, I am very fond of it. Your voice is good, if you will allow me to say so, and it has been trained. I do notquite understand how you can have had the opportunity to learn so manythings--music, for instance. "

"I suppose, Mr. Outram, you think that I should be a sort of savage byrights; but as a matter of fact, although we have lived on the Zambesi, I have had some chances. There is always a certain amount of trade onthe river, by means of which we often obtain books and other things, andare brought into occasional contact with European merchants, travellers, and missionaries. Then my father is a gently born and well-educated man, though circumstances have caused him to spend his life in these wildplaces. He was a scholar in his day and he has taught me a good deal, and I have picked up more by reading. Also, for nearly three years I wasat a good school in Durban and did my best to improve myself there. Idid not wish to grow up wild because I lived among wild people. "

"Indeed, that explains the miracle. And do you like living amongsavages?"

"I have liked it well enough hitherto, but this last adventure hassickened me. Oh! it was dreadful. Had I not been very strong I couldnever have endured it; a nervous woman would have been driven mad. Yes, I have liked it well enough; I have always looked upon it as apreparation for life. I think that the society of nature is the besteducation for the society of man, since until you understand and arein sympathy with the one, you cannot really understand the other. Now Ishould like to go to Europe and see the world and its civilisations, forI know from what stuff they were evolved. But perhaps I never shall; atany rate, I have to find my dear father first, " and she sighed. 

Leonard made no answer; he was thinking. 

"And you, Mr. Outram, do _you_ care for this life?"

"I!" he exclaimed bitterly. "Like yourself, Miss Rodd, I am the victimof circumstances and must make the best of them. As I told you I ama penniless adventurer seeking my fortune in the rough places of theearth. Of course I might earn a livelihood in England, but that is of nouse to me; I must win wealth, and a great deal of it. "

"What is the good?" she said. "Is there any object in wearing out one'slife by trying to grow rich?"

"That depends. I have an object, one which I have sworn to fulfil. "

She looked at him inquiringly. 

"Miss Rodd, I will tell you. My brother, who died of fever some weeksago, and I were the last male survivors of a very ancient house. We wereborn to great prospects, or at least he was; but owing to the conduct ofour father, everything was lost to us, and the old house, which had beenours for centuries, went to the hammer. That was some seven years ago, when I was a man of three-and-twenty. We swore that we would try toretrieve those fortunes--not for ourselves so much, but for the sakeof the family--and came to Africa to do it. My brother is dead, but Iinherit the oath and continue the quest, however hopeless it may be. Andnow, perhaps, you will understand why I signed a certain document. "

"Yes, " she said, "I understand now. It is a strange history. But tellme, have you no relations left?"

"One, I believe, if she still lives--a maiden aunt, my mother's sister. "

"Is she Jane Beach?" she asked quickly. "Forgive me, but I saw that namein the prayer-book. "

"No, " he said, "she is not Jane Beach. "

Juanna hesitated; then curiosity and perhaps other feelings overcameher, and she asked straight out--

"Who is Jane Beach?"

Leonard looked at Juanna and remembered all that he had suffered at herhands. It was impertinent of her to ask such a question, but since shechose to do so she should have an answer. Doubtless she supposed thathe was in love with herself, doubtless her conduct was premeditated andaimed at the repression of his hopes. He would show her that therewere other women in the world, and that one of them at any rate had notthought so poorly of him. It was foolish conduct on his part, but thenpeople suffering under unmerited snubs, neglect, and mockery at thehands of a lady they admire are apt to lose their judgment and dofoolish things. So he answered:

"Jane Beach is the lady to whom I was engaged. "

"I guessed it, " she replied with a smile and a shiver. "I guessed itwhen I saw that you always carried the prayer-book about with you. "

"You forget, Miss Rodd, that the prayer-book contains an agreement whichmight become valuable. "

Juanna took no heed of his sarcasm, she was too intent on otherthoughts. 

"And are you engaged to her now?"

"No, I suppose not. Her father broke off the match when we lost ourfortunes. "

"She must have been very sorry?"

"Yes, she was very sorry. "

"How interesting! You must not think me curious, Mr. Outram, but I havenever come across a love affair--that is a _white_ love affair--out of anovel. Of course she often writes to you?"

"I have never heard from her since I left England. "

"Indeed! Surely she might have written or sent a message?"

"I suppose that her father forbade it, " Leonard answered; but in hisheart he also thought that Jane might have written or sent a message, and could well guess why none had come. 

"Ah! her father. Tell me, was she very beautiful?"

"She was the loveliest woman that I ever saw--except one who is sittingat my side, " he added to himself. 

"And do you love her very much?"

"Yes, I loved her very much. "

If Juanna heard the change of tense she took no note of it; it wassuch a little thing, only one letter. And yet what a vast gulf there isbetween _love_ and _loved_! It is measureless. Still, most people havecrossed it in their lives, some of them more than once. He told her theexact truth, but after a woman's fashion she added to the truth. He saidthat he had loved Jane Beach, and she did not doubt that he still lovedher more than ever. How was she to know that the image of this farawayand hateful Jane was fading from his mind, to be replaced by that of acertain present Juanna? She took it all for granted, and filled in thedetails with a liberal hand and in high colours. 

Juanna took it all for granted. Again she shivered, and her lips turnedgrey with pain. She understood now that she had loved him ever sincethe night when they first met in the slave camp. It was her love, asyet unrecognised, which, transforming her, had caused her to behave sobadly. It had been dreadful to her to think that she should be thrustupon this man in a mock marriage; it was worse to know that he hadentered on her rescue not for her own sake, but in the hope of winningwealth. In the moment of her loss Juanna learned for the first time whatshe had gained. She had played and lost, and she could never throw thosedice again; it was begun and finished. 

So Juanna thought and felt. A little more experience of the world mighthave taught her differently. But she had no experience, and in suchnovels as she had read the hero seldom varied in the pursuit of hisfirst love, or turned to look upon _another_. Ah! if all heroes andheroines acted up to this golden rule, what an uncommonly dull world itwould be!

Juanna gathered her energies, and spoke in a low steady voice. "Mr. Outram, " she said, "I am so much obliged to you for telling me all this. It interests me a great deal, and I earnestly hope that Soa's tale oftreasure will turn out to be true, and that you may win it by my help. It will be some slight return for all that you have done for me. Yes, Ihope that you will win it, and buy back your home, and after your yearsof toil and danger live there in honour, and happiness, and--love, asyou deserve to do. And now I ask you to forgive me my behaviour, myrudeness, and my bitter speeches. It has been shameful, I know; perhapsyou will make some excuse for me when you remember all that I havegone through. My nerves were shaken, I was not myself--I acted like ahalf-wild minx. There, that is all. "

As she spoke Juanna began to draw the signet-ring from her left hand. But she never completed the act. It was his gift to her, the onlyoutward link between her and the man whom she had lost--why should shepart with it? It reminded her of so much. She knew now that thismock marriage was in a sense a true one; that is, so far as she wasconcerned, for from that hour she had indeed given her spirit into hiskeeping--not herself, but her better half and her love; and those solemnwords over her in that dreadful place and time had consecrated thegift. It was nothing, it meant nothing; yet on her it should be binding, though not on him. Yes, all her life she would remain as true to him inmind and act as though she had indeed become his wife on that night offear. To do so would be her only happiness, she thought, though it isstrange that in her sorrow she should turn for comfort to this veryevent, the mere mention of which had moved her to scorn and bitterness. But so it was, and so let it be. 

Leonard saw the look upon her face; he had never seen anything quitelike it before. With astonishment he heard her gentle words, andsomething of the meaning of the look and words came home to him; at anyrate he understood that she was suffering. She was changed in his sight, he no longer felt bitter towards her. He loved her; might it not be thatshe also loved him, and that here was the key to her strange conduct?Once and for all he would settle the matter; he would tell her that JaneBeach had ceased to be more than a tender memory to him, and that shehad become all. 

"Juanna, " he said, addressing her by her Christian name for the firsttime. 

But there, as it was fated, the sentence began and ended, for at thatmoment a canoe shot alongside of them, and Francisco's voice was heardhailing them through the fog. 

"Peter says that you have passed the camping place, senora. He did notstop you because he thought that you knew it well. "

"It was the mist, Father, " Juanna answered with a little laugh. "We havelost ourselves in a mist. "

A few minutes and they were on the bank, and Leonard's declarationremained unspoken. Nor did he make any attempt to renew it. It seemed tohim that Juanna had built a wall between them which he could not climb. From that evening forward her whole attitude towards him changed. She nolonger angered him by bitter words; indeed, she was gentleness itself, and nothing could be kindlier or more friendly and open than her manner, but there it began and ended. Once or twice, indeed, he attempted somesmall advance, with the result that instantly she seemed to freeze--tobecome cold and hard as marble. He could not understand her, he fearedher somewhat, and his pride took alarm. At the least he could keep hisfeelings to himself, he need not expose them to be trampled upon by thisincomprehensible girl. 

So, although they were destined to live side by side for months, rarelyout of each other's sight or thoughts, he went his way and she wenthers. But the past and secret trouble left its mark on both. Leonardbecame sterner, more silent, watchful, and suspicious. Juanna grewsuddenly from a girl into a woman of presence and great natural dignity. She did not often laugh during those months as had been her wont, sheonly smiled, sadly enough at times. Her thoughts would not let herlaugh, for they were of what her life might have been had no such personas Jane Beach existed, and of what it must be because of Jane Beach. Indeed this unknown Jane took a great hold of her mind--she haunted her. Juanna pictured her in a dozen different shapes of beauty, endowed withmany varying charms, and hated each phantasm worse than the last. 

Still, for a while she would set it up as a rival, and try to outmatchits particular fancied grace or loveliness--a strange form of jealousywhich at length led Otter to remark that the Shepherdess was not onewoman but twenty women, and, therefore, bewitched and to be avoided. Butthese fits only took her from time to time. For the most part she movedamong them a grave and somewhat stately young lady, careful ofmany things, fresh and lovely to look upon, a mystery to her whitecompanions, and to the natives little short of a goddess. 

But wherever Juanna moved two shadows went with her--her secret passionand the variable image of that far-off English lady who had robbed herof its fruit. 

CHAPTER XVII

THE DEATH OF MAVOOM

One more day's journeying brought the party to the ruined Settlement, which they found in much the same condition as the Arabs had left it afew weeks before. Fortunately the destruction was not nearly so greatas it appeared. The inside of the house, indeed, was burnt out, but itswalls still remained intact, also many of the huts of the natives werestill standing. 

Messengers who left the canoes at dawn had spread the news of the rescueand return of the Shepherdess among the people of the neighbouringkraals, who flocked by scores to the landing-place. With these were atleast a hundred of Mr. Rodd's own people, who had escaped the clutchesof the slaver-traders by hiding, absence, and various other accidents, and now returned to greet his daughter and their own relatives as theywould have greeted one risen from the grave. Indeed the welcome accordedto Juanna was most touching. Men, women, and children ran to her, themen saluting her with guttural voices and uplifted arms, the women andchildren gesticulating, chattering, and kissing her dress and hand. 

Waving them aside impatiently, Juanna asked the men if anything had beenseen or heard of her father. They answered, "No. " Some of their numberhad started up the river to search for him on the same day when she wascaptured, but they had not returned, and no tidings had come from themor him. 

"Do not be alarmed, " said Leonard, seeing the distress and anxietywritten on her face; "doubtless he has gone further than he anticipated, and the men have not been able to find him. "

"I fear that something has happened to him, " she answered; "he shouldhave been back by now: he promised to return within the fortnight. "

By this time the story of the capture and destruction of the slavecamp was spread abroad among the people by the rescued men, and theexcitement rose to its height. Otter, seeing a favourable opportunityto trumpet his master's fame, swaggered to and fro through the crowdshaking a spear and chanting Leonard's praises after the Zulu fashion. 

"_Wow!_" he said, "_wow!_ Look at him, ye people, and be astonished. 

"Look at him, the White Elephant, and hear his deeds. 

"In the night he fell upon them. 

"He fell upon them, the armed men in a fenced place. 

"He did it alone: no one helped him but a black monkey and a woman witha shaking hand. 

"He beguiled them with a tongue of honey, he smote them with a spear ofiron. 

"He won the Shepherdess from the midst of them to be a wife to him. 

"He satisfied the Yellow Devil, he satisfied him with gold. 

"The praying man prayed over them, then strife arose. 

"Their greatest warrior gave him battle, he broke him with his fist. 

"Then the Monkey played his tricks, and the Shaking Hand made a greatnoise, a noise of thunder. 

"They fell dead, they fell dead in heaps. 

"The fire roared behind them, in front of them the bullets hailed. 

"They cried like women, but the fire stayed not; it licked up theirstrength. 

"Ashes are all that is left of them; they are dead, the armed men. 

"No more shall they bring desolation; the day of slavery is gone by. 

"Who did it? He did it, the terrible lion, the black-maned lion with thewhite face. 

"He gave the slavers to the sword; he doomed their captain to death. 

"He loosened the irons of the captives. Now they shall eat the bread offreedom. 

"Praise him, ye people, who broke the strength of the oppressor. 

"Praise him, the Shepherd of the Shepherdess, who led her from the houseof the wicked. 

"Praise him, ye Children of Mavoom, in whose hands are death and life. 

"No such deeds have been told of in the land. Praise him, the Deliverer, who gives you back your children!"

"Ay, praise him!" said Juanna, who was standing by. "Praise him, children of my father, since but for him none of us would see the lightto-day. "

At this juncture Leonard himself arrived upon the scene, just in time tohear Juanna's words. All the people of the Settlement took up the cry, and hundreds of other natives collected there joined in it. They rushedtowards him shouting: "Praise to thee, Shepherd of the Shepherdess!Praise to thee, Deliverer!"

Then Leonard, in a fury, caught hold of Otter, vowing that if he daredto say another word he would instantly break his neck, and the tumultceased. But from that day forward he was known among the natives as "TheDeliverer, " and by no other name. 

That evening, as Leonard, Juanna, and the priest sat at meat within thewalls of the Settlement-house, with the plunder of the slave camp piledabout them, talking anxiously of the fate of Mr. Rodd and wondering ifanything could be done to discover his whereabouts, they heard a stiramong the natives without. At this moment Otter rushed in, crying:"Mavoom has come!"

Instantly they sprang to their feet and ran outside the house, headedby Juanna. There, borne on the shoulders of six travel-worn men, andfollowed by a crowd of natives, they saw a litter, upon which lay thefigure of a man covered with blankets. 

"Oh! he is dead!" said Juanna, stopping suddenly, and pressing her handsto her heart. 

For a moment Leonard thought that she was right. Before he could speak, however, they heard a feeble voice calling to the men who carried thelitter to be more careful in their movements, and once more Juannasprang forward, crying, "Father! Father!"

Then the bearers brought their burden into the house and set it downupon the floor. Leonard, looking, saw before him a tall and handsomeman of about fifty years of age, and saw also by many unmistakable signsthat he was at the point of death. 

"Juanna, " gasped her father, "is that you? Then you have escaped. ThankGod! Now I can die happy. "

It would serve little purpose to set out in detail the brokenconversation which followed, but by degrees Leonard learnt the story. Itseemed that Mr. Rodd was disappointed in his purpose of purchasingthe hoard of ivory which he went out to seek, and, unwilling to returnempty-handed, pushed on up the river with the hope of obtaining more. Inthis he failed also, and had just begun his homeward journey when he wasmet by the party which Soa despatched, and heard the terrible tidingsof the abduction of his daughter by Pereira. It was nightfall when themessengers arrived, and too dark to travel. 

For a while Mr. Rodd sat brooding over the news of this crushingdisaster, perhaps the most fearful that could come to a father's ears;then he did what he was but too prone to do--flew for refuge to thebottle. 

When he had drunk enough to destroy his judgment, he rose, and insistedupon continuing their march through the inky darkness of the night. Invain did his men remonstrate, saying that the road was rocky and full ofdanger. He would take no denial; indeed, he vowed that if they refusedto come he would shoot them. So they started, Mr. Rodd leading the way, while his people stumbled after him through trees and over rocks as bestthey might. 

The march was not a long one, however, for presently the men heard anoath and a crash, and their master vanished; nor could they find himtill the dawn came to give them light. Then they discovered that theyhad halted upon the edge of a small but precipitous cliff, and at thebottom of the donga beneath lay Mavoom--not dead, indeed, but senseless, and with three ribs and his right ankle broken. For some days theynursed him there, till at length he decided upon being carried forwardin a litter. So notwithstanding his sufferings, which were intense, theybore him homewards by short stages, till ultimately they reached theSettlement. 

That night Leonard examined Mr. Rodd's injuries, and found that theywere fatal; indeed, mortification had already set in about the region ofthe broken ribs. Still he lived awhile. 

On the following morning the dying man sent for Leonard. Enteringthe room, he found him lying on the floor, his head supported inhis daughter's lap, while the priest Francisco prayed beside him. Hesuffered no pain now, for when mortification begins pain passes, and hismind was quite clear. 

"Mr. Outram, " he said, "I have learnt all the story of the taking of theslave camp and your rescue of my daughter. It was the pluckiest thingthat I ever heard of, and I only wish that I had been there to help init. "

"Don't speak of it!" said Leonard. "Perhaps you have heard also that Idid it for a consideration. "

"Yes, they told me that too, and small blame to you. If only that oldfool Soa had let me into the secret of those rubies, I would have hada try for them years ago, as of course you will when I am gone. Well, I hope that you may get them. But I have no time to talk of rubies, fordeath has caught me at last, through my own fault as usual. If you evertake a drop, Outram, be warned by me and give it up; but you don't lookas if you did; you look as I used to, before I learnt to tackle a bottleof rum at a sitting. 

"Now listen, comrade, I am in a hole, not about myself, for that musthave come sooner or later, and it does not much matter when the worldis rid of a useless fellow like me; but about my girl here. What is tobecome of her? I have not got a cent; those cursed slavers have clearedme out, and she has no friend. How should she have, when I have beenthirty years away from England?

"Look here, I am going to do the only thing I can do. I am going toleave my daughter in your charge, though it is rough on you, and as youdeal with her, so may Heaven deal with you! I understand that there wassome ceremony of marriage between you down yonder. I don't know how youtake that, either of you, or how far the matter will go when I am dead. But if it goes any way at all, I trust to your honour, as an Englishgentleman, to repeat that ceremony the first time you come to acivilised country. If you do not care for each other, however, thenJuanna must shift, as other women have to do, poor things. She can lookafter herself, and I suppose that her face will help her to a husbandsome time. There is one thing: though she hasn't a pound, she is thebest girl that ever stepped, and of as good blood as you can be. Thereis no older family than the Rodds in Lincolnshire, and she is the lastof them that I know of; also, her mother was well-born, although she wasa Portugee. 

"And now, do you accept the trust?"

"I would gladly, " answered Leonard, "but how can I? I propose to goafter these rubies. Would it not be better that Father Francisco hereshould take your daughter to the coast? I have a little money which isat her disposal. "

"No, " answered the dying man with energy, "I will only trust her to you. If you want to search for these rubies, and you would be a fool not to, she must accompany you--that is all. I know that you will look afterher, and if the worst comes to the worst, she has a medicine to protectherself with, the same that she so nearly used in the slave camp. Now, what do you say?"

Leonard thought for a moment, while the dying man watched his faceanxiously. 

"It is a heavy responsibility, " he said, "and the circumstances make itan awkward one. But I accept it. I will take care of her as though shewere my wife, or--my daughter. "

"Thank you for that, " answered Rodd. "I believe you, and as to therelationship, you will settle that for yourselves. And now good-bye. Ilike you. I wish that we had known one another before I got into troubleat home, became a Zambesi trader, and--a drunkard. "

Leonard took the hand which Mr. Rodd lifted with a visible effort, andwhen he released it, it fell heavily, like the hand of a dead man. Then, as he turned to go, he glanced at Juanna's face, but could make nothingof it, for it was as the face of a sphinx. 

There the girl sat, her back resting against the wall, her dyingfather's head pillowed upon her knee, motionless as if carved in stone. She was staring straight before her with eyes wide open and curvedlips set apart, as though she were about to speak and suddenly had beenstricken to silence. So still was she that Leonard could scarcely noteany movement of her breast. Even her eyelids had ceased to quiver, andthe very pallor of her face seemed fixed like that of a waxen image. Hewondered what she was thinking of; but even had she been willing to bareher thoughts to him, it is doubtful whether she could have made themintelligible. Her mind was confused, but two things struggled oneagainst the other within it, the sense of loss and the sense of shame. 

The father whom, notwithstanding his faults, she loved dearly, whoindeed had been her companion, her teacher, her playmate and her friend, the dearest she had known, lay dying before her eyes, and with his lastbreath he consigned her to the care of the man whom she loved, and fromwhom, as she believed, she was for ever separated. Would there, then, beno end to the obligations under which she laboured at the hands of thisstranger, who had suddenly taken possession of her life? And what fatewas on her that she should thus be forced into false positions, whencethere was no escape?

Did she wish to escape even? Juanna knew not; but as she sat therewith a sphinx-like face, trouble and doubt, and many another fear andfeeling, took so firm a hold of her that at length her mind, bewilderedwith its own tumult, lost its grip of present realities, and soughtrefuge in dreams which he could not disentangle. No wonder, then, thatLeonard failed to guess her thoughts, as she watched him go from thedeath-bed. 

Mr. Rodd died peacefully that evening, and on the following afternoonthey buried him, Francisco performing the service. Three more dayspassed before Leonard had any conversation with Juanna, who moved aboutthe place, pale, self-contained, and silent. Nor would he have spoken toher then had she not taken the initiative. 

"Mr. Outram, " she said, "when do you propose to start upon thisjourney?"

"Really, I do not know. I am not sure that I shall start at all. Itdepends upon you. You see I am responsible for you now, and I canscarcely reconcile it with my conscience to take on you such awild-goose chase. "

"Please do not talk like that, " she answered. "If it will simplifymatters I may as well tell you at once that I have made up my mind togo. "

"You cannot unless I go too, " he answered smiling. 

"You are wrong there, " Juanna replied defiantly. "I can, and what ismore, I will, and Soa shall guide me. It is you who cannot go withoutme--that is, if Soa tells the truth. 

"For good or evil we are yoked together in this matter, Mr. Outram, soit is useless for us to try to pull different ways. Before he died, mydear father told you his views plainly, and even if there were no otherconsiderations involved, such as that of the agreement--for, whateveryou may think to the contrary, woman have some sense of honour, Mr. Outram--I would not disregard his wishes. Besides, what else are we todo? We are both adventurers now, and both penniless, or prettynearly so. Perhaps if we succeed in finding this treasure, and it issufficiently large, you will be generous and give me a share of it, sayfive per cent. , on which to support my declining years, " and she turnedand left him. 

"Beginning to show temper again, " said Leonard to himself. "I will askFrancisco what he thinks of it. "

Of late, things had gone a little better between Leonard and the priest. Not that the former had as yet any complete confidence in the latter. Still, he understood now that Francisco was a man of honest mind andgentle instincts, and naturally in this dilemma he turned to seek forcounsel to his only white companion. Francisco listened to the storyquietly; indeed, for the most part it was already known to him. 

"Well, " he said, when Leonard had finished, "I suppose that you must go. The Senora Juanna is not a young lady to change her mind when once shehas made it up, and if you were to refuse to start, mark my words, shewould make the expedition by herself, or try to do so. As to this storyof treasure, and the possibility of winning it, I can only say thatit seems strange enough to be true, and that the undertaking is soimpracticable that it will probably be successfully accomplished. "

"Hum!" said Leonard, "sounds a little paradoxical, but after that slavecamp business, like you I am inclined to believe in paradoxes. And now, Father, what do you propose to do?"

"I? to accompany you, of course, if you will allow me. I am a priest andwill play the part of chaperon, if I can do nothing else, " he added witha smile. 

Leonard whistled and asked, "Why on earth do you mix yourself up in sucha doubtful business? You have all your life before you; you are able, and may make a career for yourself in religion; there is nothing for youto gain by this journey; on the contrary, it may bring you death--or, "he added with meaning, "sorrow which cannot be forgotten. "

"My life and death are in the hand of God, " the priest answered humbly. "He appointed the beginning and He will appoint the end. As for thatsorrow which cannot be forgotten, what if it is already with me?" And hetouched his breast and looked up. 

The eyes of the two men met, and they understood each other. 

"Why don't you go away and try to forget her?" said Leonard. 

The speech was blunt, but Francisco did not resent it. 

"I do not go, " he answered, "because it would be useless. So far as I amconcerned the mischief is done; for her there is none to fear. While Istay it is possible that I may be able to do her some service, feeble asI am. I have sinned a great sin, but she does not know, and will neverknow it while I live, for you are a man of honour and will tell hernothing, and she has no eyes to see. What am I to her? I am a priest--noman. I am like a woman friend, and as such she is fond of me. No, I havesinned against Heaven, against myself, and her, and you. Alas! who couldhelp it? She was like an angel in that Inferno, so kind, so sweet, solovely, and the heart is evil. "

"Why do you say that you sinned against me, Francisco? As to the rulesof your Church, I have my own opinion of them. Still, there they are, and perhaps they prick your conscience. But what harm have you done tome?"

"I told you, " he answered, "on the second night after the slave campwas burnt, that I believed you to be man and wife. I believe it yet, andhave I not sinned doubly therefore in worshipping a woman who is wedded?Still, I pray that as you are one before Heaven and the Church, so youmay become one in heart and deed. And when this is so, as I think thatit will be, cherish her, Outram, for there is no such woman in theworld, and for you she will turn the earth to heaven. "

"She might turn it to the other place; such things have happened, " saidLeonard moodily. Then he stretched out his arm and grasped the priest'sdelicate hand. "You are a true gentleman, " he added, "and I am a fool. I saw something of all this and I suspected you. As for the marriage, there is none, and the lady cares nothing for me; if anything, shedislikes me, and I do not wonder at it: most women would under thecircumstances. But whatever befalls, I honour you and always shallhonour you. I must go this journey, it is laid on me that I should, andshe insists upon going also, more from perversity than for any otherreason, I fancy. So you are coming too: well, we will do our best toprotect her, both of us, and the future must look to itself. "

"Thank you for your words, " Francisco answered gently, and turned away, understanding that Leonard thought himself his companion in misfortune. 

When the Father had gone, Leonard stood for a while musing upon thecuriously tangled web in which he found himself involved. Here he was, committed to a strange and desperate enterprise. Nor was this all, forabout him were other complications, totally different from thosewhich might be expected in connection with such a mediaeval adventure, complications which, though they are frequent enough in the civilisedlife of men, were scarcely to be looked for in the wilds of Africa, andamidst savages. Among his companions were his ward, who chanced also tobe the lady whom he loved and desired to make his wife, but who, ashe thought, cared nothing for him; and a priest who was enamouredplatonically of the same lady, and yet wished, with rare self-sacrifice, to bring about her union with another man. Here were materials enoughfor a romance, leaving the journey and the fabled treasure out of it;only then the scene should be laid elsewhere. 

Leonard laughed aloud as he thought of these things; it was so curiousthat all this should be heaped upon him at once, so inartistic and yetso like life, in which the great events are frequently crowded togetherwithout sense of distance or proportion. 

But even as he laughed, he remembered that this was no joking matter foranybody concerned, unless it were Juanna. Alas! already she was more tohim than any treasure, and, as he thought, less attainable. Well, thereit was, he accepted it as it stood. She had entered into his life, whether for good or for evil remained to be seen. He had no desire torepeat the experiment of his youth--to wear out his heart and exhausthimself in efforts to attain happiness, which might after all turn towormwood on his lips. This time things should take their chance. Thebusiness of life remained to him, and he would follow it, for that isthe mission of man. Its happiness must look to itself, for that is thegift of Heaven, after which it is useless to seek and to strive. 

Meantime he could find time to pity Francisco, the priest with so noblea heart. 

CHAPTER XVIII

SOA SHOWS HER TEETH

Three months had passed since that day, when Juanna declared herunalterable determination to accompany Leonard upon his search for thetreasures of the People of the Mist. 

It was evening, and a party of travellers were encamped on the side ofa river that ran through a great and desolate plain. They were a smallparty, three white people, namely, Leonard, Francisco, and Juanna, fifteen of the Settlement men under the leadership of Peter--that sameheadman who had been rescued from the slave camp--the dwarf, Otter, andJuanna's old nurse, Soa. 

For twelve weeks they had travelled almost without intermission with Soafor their guide, steering continually northward and westward. First theyfollowed the course of the river in canoes for ten days or more; then, leaving the main stream, they paddled for three weeks up that of atributary called Mavuae, which ran for many miles along the foot ofa great range of mountains named Mang-anja. Here they made but slowprogress because of the frequent rapids, which necessitated theporterage of the canoes over broken ground, and for considerabledistances. At length they came to a rapid which was so long and socontinuous that regretfully enough they were obliged to abandon thecanoes altogether and proceed on foot. 

The dangers of their water journey had been many, but they were nothingcompared with those that now environed them, and in addition to bodilyperils, they must face the daily and terrible fatigue of long marchesthrough an unknown country, cumbered as they were with arms and otherabsolutely necessary baggage. The country through which they were nowpassing was named Marengi, a land uninhabited by man, the home of herdsof countless game. 

On they went northward and upward through a measureless waste; plainsucceeded plain in endless monotony, distance gave place to distance, and ever there were more beyond. 

Gradually the climate grew colder: they were traversing a portion ofthe unexplored plateau that separates southern from central Africa. Itsloneliness was awful, and the bearers began to murmur, saying that theyhad reached the end of the world, and were walking over its edge. Indeedthey had only two comforts in this part of their undertaking; the landlay so high that none of them were stricken by fever, and they couldnot well miss the road, which, if Soa was to be believed, ran along thebanks of the river that had its source in the territories of the Peopleof the Mist. 

The adventures that befell them were endless, but it is not proposed todescribe them in detail. Once they starved for three days, being unableto find game. On another occasion they fell in with a tribe of bushmenwho harassed them with poisoned arrows, killing two of their bestmen, and were only prevented from annihilating them through the terrorinspired by their firearms, which they took for magical instruments. 

Escaping from the bushmen, they entered a forest country which teemedwith antelope and also with lions, that night by night they must keepat bay as best they could. Then came several days' march through a plainstrewn with sharp stones which lamed most of the party; and after thiseighty or a hundred miles of dreary rolling veldt, clothed with rankgrass just now brown with the winter frosts, that caught their feet atevery step. 

Now at length they halted on the boundary of the land of the People ofthe Mist. There before them, not more than a mile away, towered a hugecliff or wall of rock, stretching across the plain like a giant step, far as the eye could reach, and varying from seven hundred to a thousandfeet in height. Down the surface of this cliff the river flowed in aseries of beautiful cascades. 

Before they had finished their evening meal of buck's flesh the moon wasup, and by its light the three white people stared hopelessly at thisfrowning natural fortification, wondering if they could climb it, andwondering also what terrors awaited them upon its further side. Theywere silent that night, for a great weariness had overcome them, and ifthe truth must be known, all three of them regretted that they had everundertaken this mad adventure. 

Leonard glanced to the right, where, some fifty paces away, theSettlement men were crouched round the fire. They also were silent, andit was easy to see that the heart was out of them. 

"Won't somebody say something?" said Juanna at last with a ratherpathetic attempt at playfulness. How could she be cheerful, poor girl, when her feet were sore and her head was aching, and she wished that shewere dead, almost?

"Yes, " answered Leonard, "I will say that I admire your pluck. I shouldnot have thought it possible for any young lady to have gone through thelast two months, and 'come out smiling' at the end of them. "

"Oh, I am quite happy. Don't trouble about me, " she said, laughing asmerrily as though there were no such things as sore feet and headachesin the world. 

"Are you?" said Leonard, "then I envy you, that is all. Here comes oldSoa, and Otter after her. I wonder what is the matter now. Somethingdisagreeable, I suppose. "

Soa arrived and squatted down in front of them, her tall spare formand somewhat sullen face looking more formidable than usual in themoonlight. Otter was beside her, and though he stood and she sat, theirheads were almost on a level. 

"What is it, Soa?" said Leonard carelessly. 

"Deliverer, " she answered, for all the natives knew him now by thisname, "some months ago, when you were digging for gold yonder, in thePlace of Graves, I made a bargain with you, and we set the bargain downon paper. In that paper I promised that if you rescued my mistress Iwould lead you to the land were precious stones were to be won, and Igave you one of those stones in earnest. You saved my mistress, Mavoomher father died, and the time came when I must fulfil my promise. For myown part I would not have fulfilled it, for I only made it that promisehoping to deceive you. But my mistress yonder refused to listen to me. 

"'No, ' she said, 'that which you have sworn on my behalf and your ownmust be carried out. If you will not carry it out, go away, Soa, for Ihave done with you. '

"Then, Deliverer, rather than part with her whom I loved, and whom I hadnursed from a babe, I yielded. And now you stand upon the borders of thecountry of my people. Say, are you minded to cross them, Deliverer?"

"What else did I come for, Soa?" he asked. 

"Nay, I know not. You came out of the folly of your heart, to satisfythe desire of your heart. Listen, that tale I told you is true, and yetI did not tell you all the truth. Beyond that cliff live a people ofgreat stature, and very fierce; a people whose custom it is to offer upstrangers to their gods. Enter there, and they will kill you thus. "

"What do you mean, woman?" asked Leonard. 

"I mean that if you hold your life dear, or her life, " and she pointedto Juanna, "you will turn with the first light and go back whence youcame. It is true that the stones are there, but death shall be thereward of him who strives to steal them. "

"I must say this is cheerful, " replied Leonard. "What did you mean, then, by all that story you told me about a plan that you had to win thetreasures of this people? Are you a liar, Soa?"

"I have said that all I told you was true, " she answered sullenly. 

"Very well, then, I have come a good many hundred miles to put it to theproof, nor am I going to turn back now. You can leave me one and all ifyou like, but I shall go on. I will not be made a fool of in this way. "

"None of us have any wish to be made fools of, Mr. Outram, " said Juannagently; "and, speaking for myself, I would far rather die at once thanattempt a return journey just at present. So now, Soa, perhaps you willstop croaking and tell us definitely what we must do to conciliatethese charming countrymen of yours, whom we have come so far to spoil. Remember, " she added with a flash of her grey eyes, "I am not to beplayed with by you, Soa. In this matter the Deliverer's interests are myinterests, and his ends my ends. Together we stand or fall, together welive or die, and that shall be an unhappy hour for you, Soa, when youattempt to desert or betray us. "

"It is well, Shepherdess, " she answered, "your will is my will, for Ilove you alone in the world, and all the rest I hate, " and she glared atLeonard and Otter. "You are my father, and my mother, and my child, andwhere you are, in death or in life, there is my home. Let us go thenamong this people of mine, there to perish miserably, so that theDeliverer may seek to glut himself with wealth. 

"Listen; this is the law of my people, or this was their law when I leftthem forty years ago: That every stranger who passes through their gatesshould be offered as a sacrifice to Aca the mother if the time of hiscoming should be in summer, and to Jal the son if the time of his comingbe in winter, for the Mist-dwellers do not love strangers. But there isa prophecy among my people which tells, when many generations have goneby, that Aca the mother, and Jal the son, shall return to the land whichonce they ruled, clothed in the flesh of men. And the shape of Aca shallbe such a shape as yours, Shepherdess, and the shape of Jal shall be asis the shape of this black dog of a dwarf, whom when first I saw him inmy folly I deemed immortal and divine. Then the mother and the sonshall rule in the land, and its kings shall cease from kingship, and thepriests of the Snake shall be their servants, and with them shall comepeace and prosperity that do not pass away. 

"Shepherdess, you know the tongue of the People of the Mist, forwhen you were little I taught it to you, because to me it is themost beautiful of tongues. You know the song also, the holy Song ofRe-arising, that shall be on the lips of Aca when she comes again, and which I, being the daughter of the high-priest, learned, with manyanother secret, before I was doomed to be a bride to the Snake and fled, fearing my doom. Now come apart with me, Shepherdess, and you, BlackOne, come also, that I may teach you your lesson of what you shall dowhen we meet the squadrons of the People of the Mist. "

Juanna rose to obey her, followed by Otter, grumbling, for he hatedthe old woman as much as she hated him, and, moreover, he did not takekindly to this notion of masquerading as a god, or, indeed, to theprospect of a lengthened sojourn amongst his adoring, but from allaccounts somewhat truculent, worshippers. Before they went, however, Leonard spoke. 

"I have heard you, Soa, " he said, "and I do not like your words, forthey show me that your heart is fierce and evil. Yes, though you lovethe Shepherdess, your heart is evil. Now hear me. Should you dare toplay us false, whatever may befall us, be sure of this, that moment youdie. Go!"

"Spare your threats, Deliverer, " answered Soa haughtily. "I shall notbetray you, because to do so would be to betray the Shepherdess. But areyou then a fool that you think I should fear death at your hands, whoto-morrow with a word could give you all to torment? Pray, Deliverer, that the hour may not be near when you shall rejoice to die by thebullet with which you threaten me, so that you may escape worse things. "And she turned and went. 

"I am not nervous, " said Leonard to Francisco, "but that she-devilfrightens me. If it were not for Juanna, she would cause us to bemurdered on the first possible opportunity, and if only she can secureher safety, I believe that she will do it yet. "

"And I believe that she is a witch, Outram, " answered the priest withfervour, "a servant of the Evil One, such as are written of in theScriptures. Last night I saw her praying to her gods; she did not knowthat I was near, for the place was lonely, but I saw her and I neverwish to see anything so horrible again. I will tell you why she hates usall so much, Outram. She is jealous, because the senora--does not hateus. That woman's heart is wicked, wickedness was born in her, yet, asnone are altogether evil, she has one virtue, her love of the senora. She is husbandless and childless, for even among the black people, as Ihave learnt from the Settlement men, all have feared her and shrunk fromher notwithstanding her good looks. Therefore, everything that is bestin her has gone to nourish this love for the woman whom she nursed froma babe. It was because of her fierceness that the Senor Rodd, who isdead, chose her for his daughter's nurse, when he found that her heartwas hungry with love for the child, for he knew that she would diebefore she suffered harm to come to her. "

"He showed good judgment there, " said Leonard. "Had it not been for Soa, Juanna would have been a slave-girl now, or dead. "

"That is so, Outram, but whether we showed good judgment in trusting ourlives to her tender mercies is quite another matter. Say, friend, do youthink it well to go on with this business?"

"Oh, confound it all!" said Leonard with irritation, "how can we turnback now? Just think of the journey and how foolish we should look. Besides, we have none of us got anything to live upon; it took most ofthe gold that I had to bribe Peter and his men to accompany us. I daresay that we shall all be killed, that seems very probable, but for mypart I really shan't be sorry. I am tired of life, Francisco; it isnothing but a struggle and a wretchedness, and I begin to feel thatpeace is all I can hope to win. I have done my best here according to mylights, so I don't know why I should be afraid of the future, especiallyas it has been taken out of me pretty well in the present, though ofcourse I _am_ afraid for all that, every man is. The only thing thattroubles me is a doubt whether we ought to take Juanna into such aplace. But really I do not know but what it would be as dangerous to goback as to proceed: those gentlemen with the poisoned arrows may haverecovered from their fear of firearms by now. "

"I wish we had nothing worse than the Hereafter to fear, " said Franciscowith a sigh. "It is the journey thither that is so terrible. As forour expedition, having undertaken it, I think on the whole that we hadbetter persevere, especially as the senora wishes it, and she is veryhard to turn. After all our lives are in the hands of the Almighty, andtherefore we shall be just as safe, or unsafe, among the People of theMist as in a European city. Those of us who are destined to live willlive, and those whose hour is at hand must die. And now good night, forI am going to sleep. "

Next morning, shortly before dawn, Leonard was awakened by a hubbubamong the natives, and creeping out of his blankets, he found thatsome of them, who had been to the river to draw water, had captured twobushmen belonging to a nomadic tribe that lived by spearing fish. Thesewretched creatures, who notwithstanding the cold only wore a piece ofbark tied round their shoulders, were screaming with fright, and itwas not until they had been pacified by gifts of beads and empty brasscartridges that anything could be got out of them. 

When confidence had at length been restored, Otter questioned themclosely as to the country that lay beyond the wall of rock and thepeople who dwelt in it, through one of the Settlement men, who spoke alanguage sufficiently like their own to make himself understood. Theyreplied that they had never been in that country themselves, becausethey dared not go there, but they had heard of it from others. 

The land was very cold and foggy, they said, so foggy that sometimespeople could not see each other for whole days, and in it dwelt a raceof great men covered with hair, who sacrificed strangers to a snakewhich they worshipped, and married all their fairest maidens to a god. That was all they knew of the country and of the great men, for few whovisited there ever returned to tell tidings. It was certainly a hauntedland. 

Finding that there was no more to be learnt from the bushmen, Leonardsuffered them to depart, which they did at considerable speed, andordered the Settlement men to make ready to march. But now a freshdifficulty arose. The interpreter had repeated all the bushmen's storyto his companions, among whom, it is needless to say, it produced nosmall effect. Therefore when the bearers received their orders, insteadof striking the little tent in which Juanna slept, and preparing theirloads as usual, after a brief consultation they advanced upon Leonard ina body. 

"What is it, Peter?" he asked of the headman. 

"This, Deliverer: we have travelled with you and the Shepherdess forthree full moons, enduring much hardship and passing many dangers. Now we learn that there lies before us a land of cold and darkness, inhabited by devils who worship a devil. Deliverer, we have been goodservants to you, and we are not cowards, as you know, but it is truethat we fear to enter this land. "

"What do you wish to do then, Peter?" asked Leonard. 

"We wish to return whence we came, Deliverer. Already we have nearlyearned the money that you gave to us before we started, and we will takeno more pay if we must win it by crossing yonder wall. "

"The way back is far, Peter, " answered Leonard, "and you know itsperils. How many, think you, will reach their homes alive if I am notthere to guide them? For know, Peter, I will not turn back now. Desertme, if you wish, all of you, and still I will enter this country alone, or with Otter only. Alone we took the slave camp and alone we will visitthe People of the Mist. "

"Your words are true, Deliverer, " said Peter, "the homeward way is farand its perils are many; mayhap but very few of us will live to seetheir huts again, for this is an ill-fated journey. But if we passyonder, " and he pointed to the wall of rock, "then we shall all of uscertainly die, and be offered to a devil by devils. "

Leonard pulled his beard thoughtfully and said: "It seems there isnothing else to say, Peter, except good-bye. "

The headman saluted and was turning away with an abashed countenancewhen Juanna stopped him. Together with Otter and the others she had beenlistening to the colloquy in silence, and now spoke for the first time. 

"Peter, " she said gently, "when you and your companions were in thehands of the Yellow Devil and about to be sold as slaves, who was itthat rescued you?"

"The Deliverer, Shepherdess. "

"Yes. And now do my ears betray me, or do I hear you say that you andyour brethren, who with many another were saved from shame and toil bythe Deliverer, are about to leave him in his hour of danger?"

"You have heard aright, Shepherdess, " the man answered sadly. 

"It is well, Peter. Go, children of Mavoom, my father, who can desert mein my need. For learn, Peter, that where you fear to tread, there I, a white woman, will pass alone with the Deliverer. Go, children of myfather, and may peace go with you. Yet, as you know, I, who foretoldthe doom of the Yellow Devil, am a true prophetess, and I tell you this, that but a very few of you shall live to see your kraal again, and _you_will not be of their number, Peter. As for those who come home safely, their names shall be a mockery, the little children shall call themcoward, and traitor and jackal, and one by one they shall eat outtheir hearts and die, because they deserted him who saved them from theslave-ship and the scourge. Farewell, children of my father: may peacego with you, and may his ghost not come to haunt you on your path, " andwith one indignant glance she turned scornfully away. 

"Brethren, " said Peter after a moment's pause, "is it to be borne thatthe Shepherdess should mock us thus and tie such ropes of shame aboutour necks?"

"No, " they answered, "we cannot bear it. "

Then for a while they consulted together again, and presently Peterstood forward and said: "Deliverer, we will accompany you and theShepherdess into the country of devils, nor need you fear that we shalldesert or betray you. We know well that we go to our death, every oneof us; still it is better to die than to live bearing the burden of suchbitter words as hide within the Shepherdess's lips. "

"Very well, " answered Leonard. "Get your loads and let us start. "

"Ay! It is well indeed, " put in Otter with a snort of indignation. "Itell you this, Peter, that before you left this place the words of theShepherdess had come true for you and one or two others, for I shouldhave fought you till I was killed, and though I have little wisdom yet Iknow how to fight. "

Leonard smiled at the dwarf's rage, but his heart was heavy within him. He knew that these men had reason on their side, and he feared greatlylest their evil forebodings should come true and the lives of all ofthem pay forfeit for his rashness. 

But it was too late to turn back now: things must befall as they werefated. 

CHAPTER XIX

THE END OF THE JOURNEY

An hour later the party began the ascent of the wall of rock, whichproved to be an even more difficult business than they had anticipated. There was no path, for those who lived beyond this natural barrier nevercame down it, and few of the dwellers in the plains had ever venturedto go up. It was possible, for Soa herself had descended here in bygoneyears, and this was all that could be said for it. 

In default of a better road they followed the course of the river, which thundered down the face of the precipice in four great waterfalls, connected by as many sullen pools, whose cavities had been hollowed outin the course of centuries from the rock. The second of these ledgesproved so insurmountable that at one time Leonard thought that theywould be obliged to abandon their attempt, and follow the foot of thecliff till they found some easier route. But at last Otter, who couldclimb like a cat, succeeded in passing the most dangerous part at therisk of his life, bearing a rope with him by means of which the restof the party and the loads of goods were hauled up one by one. It wasevening before the height was scaled, and they proceeded to encamp uponits summit, making a scanty meal of some meat which they had broughtwith them. 

That night they passed in great discomfort, for it was mid-winter andhere the climate proved to be very cold. Bitter winds swept across thevast plain before them and searched them through, all the clothing andblankets they had scarcely sufficing to keep them warm; indeed, theSettlement men and Francisco, who had been bred in a southern clime, suffered severely. Nor were matters improved when, on the breaking ofthe light, they woke from a troubled sleep to find the plain hidden ina dense mist. However, they rose, made a fire with reeds and dead woodwhich they gathered on the banks of the river, and ate, waiting for thefog to vanish. 

But it did not vanish, so about nine o'clock they continued theirjourney under Soa's guidance, following the east bank of the rivernorthwards. The ground proved easy to travel over, for, with theexception of isolated water-worn boulders of granite, the plain wasperfectly smooth and covered with turf as fine as any that grows innorthern lands. 

All that day they marched on, wandering like ghosts through the mist, and guided in their path by the murmuring sound of the river. They metno man, but once or twice great herds of hairy creatures thundered pastthem. Leonard fired into one of these herds with an express rifle, forthey wanted meat, and a prodigious snorting and bellowing told him thathis shot had taken effect. Running to the spot whence the sounds came, he found a huge white bull kicking in its death struggle. The animalwas covered with long white hair like that of the British breed of wildcattle, and measured at least seventeen hands in height. Round it stoodothers snorting with fear and wonder, that, when they saw Leonard, putdown their heads threateningly, tearing up the turf with their greathorns. He shouted aloud and fired another shot, whereon they turned anddisappeared into the mist. 

This happened towards nightfall, so they determined to camp upon thespot; but while they were engaged in skinning the bull an incidentoccurred that did not tend to raise their spirits. At sunset the skycleared a little--at least the sinking sun showed red through the mistas it does in a London fog of the third density. Against this red ballof the sun, and some dozen yards away, suddenly there appeared thegigantic figure of a man, for, unless the fog deceived them, he musthave been between six and seven feet high and broad in proportion. Ofhis face they could see nothing, but he was clad in goat-skins, andarmed with a great spear and a bow slung upon his back. 

Juanna was the first to see and point him out to Leonard with a start offear, as he stood watching them in solemn silence. Obeying the impulseof the moment, Leonard stepped forward towards the vision holding hisrifle ready, but before he reached the spot where it had stood thefigure vanished. 

Then he walked back again to Juanna. "I think we have heard so much ofgiants that we begin to believe we see them, " he said laughing. 

As he spoke something clove the air between them and stuck in the earthbeyond. They went to it. It was a large arrow having a barbed point andflighted with red feathers. 

"This is a very tangible fancy at any rate, " Juanna answered, drawingthe shaft out of the ground. "We have had a narrow escape. "

Leonard did not speak, but raising his rifle he fired it at a venture inthe direction whence the arrow had sped. Then he ran to put their littleband in a position of defence, Juanna following him. But, as it chanced, he might have spared himself the trouble, for nothing further happened;indeed, the net outward and visible result of this mysterious apparitionwas that they spent a miserable night, waiting in the fog and wet--forit had come on to rain, or rather drizzle--for an enemy who, to theirintense relief, never appeared. 

But the inward and spiritual consequences were much greater, for nowthey knew that Soa spoke truth and that the legend of the bushmen as to"great men covered with hair" was no mere savage invention. 

At length the morning came. It was damp and wretched, and they wereall half starved with cold and oppressed by fears. Indeed some ofthe Settlement men were so terrified that they openly lamentedhaving suffered their sense of shame and loyalty to overcome theirdetermination to retreat. Now they could not do so, for the malcontentsamong them did not dare to retrace their steps alone; moreover, Leonardspoke plainly on the matter, telling them that he would drive away thefirst man who attempted any insubordination. 

Soaked through, shivering, and miserable, they pursued their marchacross the unknown plain, Soa, who seemed to grow hourly grimmer nowthat she was in her own country, stalking ahead of them as guide. Itwas warmer walking than sitting still, and in one respect their lot wasbettered, for a little wind stirring the mist from time to time revealedgleams of the watery sun. All that day they journeyed on, seeing nomore of the man who had shot the arrow, or his fellows, till at lengthdarkness drew near again. 

Then they halted, and Leonard and Otter walked to and fro searchingfor a suitable place to make the camp and pitch their solitary tent. Presently Otter shouted aloud. Leonard ran towards him, and found himstaring into the mist at something that loomed largely about a hundredyards away. 

"Look, Baas, " he said, "there is a house, a house of stone with grassgrowing on the roof. "

"Nonsense, " said Leonard, "it must be some more boulders. However, wecan soon find out. "

They crept cautiously towards the object, that, as soon became evident, was a house or a very good apology for one, built of huge undressedboulders, bedded in turf by way of mortar, and roofed with the trunksof small trees and a thick thatch of sods whereon the grass grew green. This building may have measured forty feet in length by twenty in depth, and seventeen from the ground-line to the wall-plate. Also it hada doorway of remarkable height and two window-places, but all theseopenings were unclosed, except by curtains of hide which hung beforethem. Leonard called Soa and asked her what the place was. 

"Doubtless the house of a herdsman, " she answered, "who is set here towatch the cattle of the king, or of the priests. It may chance that thisis the dwelling of that man who shot the arrow yesterday. "

Having assured themselves that here was a human habitation, it remainedto be ascertained whether it was tenanted. After waiting awhile to seeif anyone passed in or out, Otter undertook this task. Going down on hishands and knees he crept up to the wall, then along it to the doorway, and after listening there awhile he lifted a corner of the hide curtainand peeped into the interior. Presently he rose, saying:

"All right, Baas, the place is empty. "

Then they both entered and examined the dwelling with curiosity. Itwas rude enough. The walls were unplastered, and the damp streamed downthem; the floor was of trodden mud, and a hole in the roof served asa chimney; but, by way of compensation, the internal space was dividedinto two apartments, one of them a living room, and the other a sleepingchamber. It was evident that the place had not been long deserted, forfire still smouldered on the hearth, round which stood various earthencooking dishes, and in the sleeping-room was a rough bedstead of woodwhereon lay wrappings made from the hides of cattle and goats. Whenthey had seen everything there was to be seen, they hurried back to theothers to report their discovery, and just then the rain set in moreheavily than before. 

"A house!" said Juanna; "then for goodness' sake let us get into it. Weare all half dead with the cold and wet. "

"Yes, " answered Leonard, "I think we had better take possession, thoughit may be a little awkward if the rightful owners come back. "

The best that can be said for the night which they spent in this stoneshanty, undisturbed by any visit from its lawful tenant, is that itpassed a shade more comfortably than it would have done outside. Theywere dry, though the place was damp, and they had a fire. Still, untilyou are used to it, it is trying to sit in the company of a score ofblack people and of many thousand fleas, enveloped with a cloud ofpungent smoke, according to the custom of our Norse ancestors. 

Soon Juanna gave up the attempt and retired to the great bed in theinner chamber, wondering much who had occupied it last. A herdsman, she judged, as Soa had suggested, for in a corner of the room stood anox-goad hugely fashioned. But it was a bed, and she slept as soundly init as its numerous insect occupants would allow. The others were not sofortunate: they had the insects indeed, but no bed. 

Again the morning came, wet, miserable, and misty, and through the mistand rain they pursued their course, whither they knew not. All day theywandered on by the banks of the river till night fell and theycamped, this time without shelter. Now they had reached the extreme ofwretchedness, for they had little or no food left, and could not findfuel to make a fire. Leonard took Soa aside and questioned her, for hesaw clearly that a couple more days of this suffering would put an endto all of them. 

"You say these people of yours have a city, Soa?"

"They have a city, Deliverer, " she answered, "but whether they willallow you to enter it, except as a victim for sacrifice, is anothermatter. "

"None of us will enter it unless we find shelter soon, " he answered. "How far is the place away?"

"It should be a day's journey, Deliverer. Were the mist gone you couldsee it now. The city is built at the foot of great mountains, there arenone higher, but the fog hides everything. To-morrow, if it lifts, youwill see that I speak truth. "

"Are there any houses near where we can shelter?" he asked again. 

"How can I tell?" she answered. "It is forty years since I passedthis road, and here, where the land is barren, none dwell except theherdsmen. Perhaps there is a house at hand, or perhaps there is none formany miles. Who can say?"

Finding that Soa could give no further information, Leonard returned tothe others, and they huddled themselves together for warmth on thewet ground as best they might, and sat out the hours in silence, notattempting to sleep. The Settlement men were numb with cold, and Juannaalso was overcome for the first time, though she tried hard to becheerful. Francisco and Leonard heaped their own blankets on her, pretending that they had found spare ones, but the wraps were wringingwet, and gave her little comfort. Soa alone did not appear to suffer, perhaps because it was her native climate, and Otter kept his spirits, which neither heat, nor cold, nor hunger seemed to affect. 

"While my heart is warm I am warm, " he said cheerfully, when Leonardasked him how he fared. As for Leonard himself, he sat silent listeningto the moans of the Settlement men, and reflecting that twenty-fourhours more of this misery would bring the troubles of most of them to anend. Without food or shelter it was very certain that few of those aliveto-night would live to see a second dawn. 

At last the light came and to their wonder and exceeding joy they foundthat the rain had ceased and the mist was melting. 

Once more they beheld the face of the sun, and rejoiced in its warmthas only those can rejoice who for days and nights have lived insemi-darkness, wet to the skin and frozen to the marrow. 

The worst of the mist was gone indeed, but it was not until they hadbreakfasted off a buck which Otter shot in the reeds by the river, thatthe lingering veils of vapour withdrew themselves from the more distantlandscape. At last they had vanished, and for the first time thewanderers saw the land through which they were travelling. They stoodupon a vast plain that sloped upwards gradually till it ended at thefoot of a mighty range of snow-capped mountains named, as they learnedin after-days, the Bina Mountains. 

This range was shaped like a half-moon, or a bent bow, and the nearestpoint of the curve, formed by a soaring snowy peak, was exactly oppositeto them, and to all appearance not more than five-and-twenty miles away. On either side of this peak the unbroken line of mountains receded witha vast and majestic sweep till the eye could follow them no more. Theplain about them was barren and everywhere strewn with granite boulders, between which wandered herds of wild cattle, mixed with groups ofantelopes; but the lower slopes of the mountains were clothed with densejuniper forests, and among them were clearings, presumably of cultivatedland. Otter searched the scene with his eyes, that were as those of ahawk; then said quietly:

"Look yonder, Baas; the old hag has not lied to us. There is the city ofthe People of the Mist. "

Following the line of the dwarf's outstretched hand, Leonard saw whathad at first escaped him, that standing back in a wide bend at the footof the great mountain in front of them were a multitude of houses, builtof grey stone and roofed with green turf. Indeed, had not his attentionbeen called to it, the town might well have missed observation untilhe was quite close to its walls, for the materials of which it wasconstructed resembled those of the boulders that lay about them inthousands, and the vivid green of its roofs gave it the appearance of adistant space of grassy land. 

"Yes, there is the kraal of the Great People, " said Otter again, "andit is a strong kraal. See, Baas, they know how to defend themselves. Themountain is behind them that none can climb, and all around their wallsthe river runs, joining itself together again on the plain beyond. Itwould go ill with the 'impi' which tried to take that kraal. "

For a while they all stood still and stared amazed. It seemed strangethat they should have reached this fabled city; and now that theywere there, how would they be received within its walls? This was thequestion which each one of them was asking of himself. There was but oneway to find out--they must go and see; no retreat was now possible. Even the Settlement people felt this. "Better to die at the hands ofthe Great Men, " said one of them aloud, "than to perish miserably in themist and cold. "

"Be of good cheer, " Leonard answered; "you are not yet dead. The sunshines once more. It is a happy omen. "

When they had rested and dried their clothes they marched on witha certain sense of relief. There before them was the goal they hadtravelled so far to win; soon they would know the worst that couldbefall, and anything was better than this long suspense. 

By midday they had covered about fifteen miles of ground, and could nowsee the city clearly. It was a great town, surrounded by a Cyclopeanwall of boulders, about which the river ran on every side, forming anatural moat. The buildings within the wall seemed to be arranged instreets, and to be build on a plan similar to that of the house inwhich they had slept two nights before, the vast conglomeration ofgrass-covered roofs giving the city the appearance of a broken field ofturf hillocks supported upon walls of stone. 

For the rest the place was laid out upon a slope, and at its head, immediately beneath the sheer steps of the mountain side stood twoedifices very much larger in size than any of those below. One of theseresembled the other houses in construction, and was surrounded by aseparate enclosure; but the second, which was placed on higher ground, so far as they could judge at that distance, was roofless, and had allthe characteristics of a Roman amphitheatre. At the far end of thisamphitheatre stood a huge mass of polished rock, bearing a grotesqueresemblance to the figure of a man. 

"What are those buildings, Soa?" asked Leonard. 

"The lower one is the house of the king, White Man, and that above isthe Temple of Deep Waters, where the river rises from the bowels of themountain. "

"And what is the black stone beyond the temple?"

"That, White Man, is the statue of the god who sits there for ever, watching over the city of his people. "

"He must be a great god, " said Leonard, alluding to the size of thestatue. 

"He _is_ great, " she answered, "and my heart is afraid at the sight ofhim. "

After resting for two hours they marched on again, and soon it becameapparent that their movements were watched. The roadway which they werefollowing--if a track beaten flat by the feet of men and cattle could becalled a road--wound to and fro between boulders of rock, and here andthere standing upon the boulders were men clad in goat-skins, each ofthem carrying a spear, a bow and a horn. So soon as their party camewithin five or six hundred yards of one of these men, he would shootan arrow in their direction, which, when picked up, proved to be barbedwith iron, and flighted with red feathers like the first that they hadseen. Then the sentry would blow his horn, either as a signal or intoken of defiance, bound from the rock, and vanish. This did not lookencouraging, but there was worse to come. Presently, as they drew nearto the city, they descried large bodies of armed men crossing the riverthat surrounded it in boats and on rafts, and mustering on the hitherside. At length all of them were across, and the regiment, whichappeared to number more than a thousand men, formed up in a hollowsquare and advanced upon them at the double. 

The crisis was at hand. 

CHAPTER XX

THE COMING OF ACA

Leonard turned and looked at his companions with something like dismaywritten on his face. 

"What is to be done now?" he said. 

"We must wait for them until they come near, " answered Juanna, "thenOtter and I are to meet them alone, and I will sing the song whichSoa has taught me. Do not be afraid, I have learned my lesson, and, ifthings go right, they will think that we are their lost gods; or, atleast, so Soa says. "

"Yes, _if_ things go right. But if they don't?"

"Then good-bye, " answered Juanna, with a shrug of her shoulders. "At anyrate, I must get ready for the experiment. Come, Soa, bring the bundleto those rocks over there--quick! Stop a minute--I forgot, Mr. Outram, you must lend me that ruby. I have to make use of it. "

Leonard handed over the ruby, reflecting that he would probably neversee it again, since it seemed almost certain that one of the GreatPeople would steal it. However, at the moment he was thinking of thatwhich was far above rubies, namely, of what chance they had of escapingwith their lives. 

So soon as she had possession of the stone, Juanna ran to a little ringof boulders that were scattered on the plain about fifty paces fromthem, followed by Soa, who carried a bundle in her hand. 

Ten minutes passed, and Soa appeared from behind the shelter of thestones and beckoned to them. Advancing in obedience to her summons, they saw a curious sight. Standing in the ring of rocks was Juanna, but Juanna transformed. She wore a white robe cut low upon the neck andshoulders; indeed, it was the Arab dress in which she had escaped fromthe slave camp, that Soa had brought with them in preparation for thismoment of trial. Nor was this all; for Juanna had loosened her darkhair--which was of great length and unusual beauty--so that it hungabout her almost to her knees, and upon her forehead, gleaming like ared eye, was set the great ruby, ingeniously fastened thereto by Soa ina band of linen pierced in its centre to the size of the stone. 

"Behold the goddess and do homage, " said Juanna with mock solemnity, although Leonard could see that she was trembling with excitement. 

"I do not quite understand what you are going to do, but you look thepart well, " he answered shortly. And, indeed, until that moment he hadnever known how beautiful she was. 

Juanna blushed a little at the evident admiration in his eyes; then, turning to the dwarf, she said:

"Now, Otter, you must make ready too. And remember what Soa told you. Whatever you see or hear, you are not to open your mouth. Walk side byside with me and do as I do, that is all. "

Otter grunted in assent, and proceeded to "make ready. " The process wassimple, consisting only in the shedding of his coat and trousers--an oldpair of Leonard's, very much cut down--which left him naked, except fora _moocha_ that he wore beneath them in accordance with native custom. 

"What does all this mean?" asked the headman Peter, who, like hiscompanions, was trembling with fear. 

"It means, " said Juanna, "that Otter and I are impersonating the gods ofthis people, Peter. If they receive us as gods, it is well; if not, weare doomed. Be careful, should we be so received, lest any of you betraythe trick. Be wise and silent, I say, and do what we shall tell you fromtime to time, if you would live to look upon the sun. "

Peter fell back astonished, while Leonard and Francisco turned theirattention to the approaching soldiers of the People of the Mist. 

They advanced slowly and in silence, but their measured tread shookthe earth. At last they halted about a hundred and fifty yards away, presenting a truly terrifying spectacle to the little band among therocks. So far as Leonard could see, there was not a man among themwho stood less than six feet in height, and they were broad inproportion--hugely made. In appearance they were neither handsome norrepulsive, but solemn-looking, large-eyed, thick-haired--between blackand yellow in hue--and wearing an expression of dreadful calm, likethe calm of an archaic statue. For the rest they seemed to be welldisciplined, each company being under the command of a captain, who, in addition to his arms, carried a trumpet fashioned from a wild bull'shorn. 

The regiment stood silent, gazing at the group of strangers, or, rather, at the boulders behind which they were concealed. In the centre of theirhollow square was a knot of men, one of them young, and huge even incomparison with his companions. This man Leonard took to be a chief orking. Behind were orderlies and counsellors, and before him three agedpersons of stately appearance and a cruel cast of countenance. These menwere naked to the waist and unarmed, except for a knife or hanger fixedat the girdle. On their broad breasts, covering more than half theskin-surface, the head of a huge snake was tattooed in vivid blue. Evidently they were medicine-men or priests. 

While the adventurers watched and wondered, the king or chief issued anorder to his attendants, who ran to the corners of the square and calledit aloud. Then he raised his great spear, and every captain blew uponhis horn, making a deafening sound. 

Now the enemy stood still for a while, staring towards the stones, and the three medicine-men drew near to the chief in the centre of thesquare and talked with him, as though debating what should be done. 

"This is our chance, " said Juanna excitedly. "If once they attack us itwill be all over; a single volley of arrows would kill every one of us. Come, Otter. "

"No, no!" said Leonard. "I am afraid of your venturing yourself amongthose savages. The danger is too great. "

"Danger! Can the danger be more than it is here? In a minute we may allbe dead. Nonsense! I _will_ go! I know what to do and have made up mymind to it. Do not fear for me. Remember that, if the worst comes to theworst, I have the means to protect myself. You are not afraid to come, are you, Otter?"

"No, Shepherdess, " said the dwarf. "Here all roads are alike. "

Leonard thought awhile. Bitterly did he reproach himself in that he hadbeen the cause of leading his ward into such a position. But nowthere was no help for it--she must go. And after all it could make nodifference if she were killed or captured five minutes hence or half anhour later. But Francisco, who could not take such a philosophical viewof the situation, implored her not to venture herself alone among thosehorrible savages. 

"Go if you like, Juanna, " said Leonard, not heeding the priest'simportunities. "If anything happens I will try to avenge you before Ifollow. Go, but forgive me. "

"What have I to forgive?" she said, looking at him with shining eyes. "Did you not once dare a greater danger for me?"

"Yes, go, Shepherdess, " said Soa, who till now had been staring with allher eyes at the three aged men in the centre of the square; "there islittle to fear, if this fool of a dwarf will but keep his tongue silent. I know my people, and I tell you that if you sing that song, and saythe words which I have taught you, you and the black one here shall beproclaimed gods of the land. But be swift, for the soldiers are about toshoot. "

As Soa spoke, Leonard saw that the conference in the square had come toan end. The messengers were calling commands to the captains, which thecaptains repeated to the soldiers, and then followed a mighty rattlingof quivers. Another instant and the light shone upon many hundreds ofarrow-heads, every one of which was pointed towards them. 

Juanna saw also, and springing forward on to a rock, stood there for amoment in the full glare of the sun. Instantly a murmur went up from thehost; a great voice called a command; the barbs of steel flickered likeinnumerable stars, and sank downwards. 

Now Otter, naked except for his _moocha_, sprang on to the rock byJuanna's side, and the murmur of the soldiers of the Great People grewinto a hoarse roar of astonishment and dismay. Wonder had turned tofear, though why this multitude of warriors should fear a lovely whitegirl and a black dwarf was not apparent. 

For a moment the ill-assorted pair stood together on the rock; thenJuanna leapt to the plain, Otter following her. For twenty yards or soshe walked in silence, holding the dwarf by the hand; then suddenly sheburst into singing wild and sweet. This was the refrain of the sacredsong which she sang in the ancient language of the People of the Mist, the tongue that Soa had taught her as a child:

 "I do but sleep. Have ye wept for me awhile? Hush! I did but sleep. I shall awake, my people! I am not dead, nor can I ever die. See, I have but slept! See, I come again, made beautiful! Have ye not seen me in the faces of the children? Have ye not heard me in the voices of the children? Look on me now, the sleeper arisen; Look on me, who wandered, whose name is the Dawning! Why have ye mourned me, the sleeper awakened?"

Thus she sang, ever more sweetly and louder, till her voice rangthrough the still air like the song of a bird in winter. Hushed were thecompanies of the Great Men as she drew towards them with slow glidingsteps--hushed with fear and wonder, as though her presence awoke amemory or fulfilled a promise. 

Now she was in front of their foremost rank, and, halting there, wassilent for a moment. Then she changed her song. 

 "Will ye not greet me, children of my children? Have ye forgotten the promise of the dead? Shall I return to the dream-land whence I wander? Will ye refuse me, the Mother of the Snake?"

The soldiers looked upon one another and murmured each to each. Now shesaw that they understood her words and were terror-stricken by them. For another moment there was silence, then suddenly the three priests ormedicine-men, who had drawn near together, passed through the ranks andstood before her, accompanied by the warrior-chief. 

Then one of them, the most aged, a man who must have numbered ninetyyears, spoke in the midst of an intense silence. To Juanna's joy, asthey had understood her, so she understood him, for his language was thesame that Soa taught her many years before, and in which, for the sakeof practice, they had always conversed together for the last two months. 

"Art thou woman, or spirit?" asked the ancient priest. 

"I am both woman and spirit, " she answered. 

"And he with thee, he whom we know of"--went on the priest, pointingtremblingly to Otter--"is he god or man?"

"He is both god and man, " she answered. 

"And those yonder; who are they?"

"They are our ministers and servants, white for the white, and black forthe black, the companions of our wanderings, men and not spirits. "

The three priests consulted together, while the chief looked on Juanna'sbeauty with wondering eyes. Then the oldest of them spoke again:

"Thou tellest us in our own tongue of things that have long been hidden, though perchance they are remembered. Either, O Beautiful, thou hastlearned these things and liest to us, and then food are ye all for theSnake against whom thou dost blaspheme, or ye are gods indeed, andas gods ye shall be worshipped. Tell us now thy name, and the name ofyonder dwarf, of whom we know. "

"I am named the Shepherdess of Heaven among men. He is named Otter, Dweller in the Waters, among men. Once we had other names. "

"Tell us the other names, O Shepherdess. "

"Once in the far past I was named Brightness, I was named Dawn, I wasnamed Daylight. Once in the far past he was named Silence, he was namedTerror, he was named Darkness. Yet at the beginning we had other names. Perchance ye know them, Ministers of the Snake. "

"Perchance we know them, O thou who art named Shepherdess of Heaven, Othou who wert named Brightness, and Dawn, and Daylight; O thou who artnamed Dweller in the Waters, and wert named Silence, and Terror, andDarkness! Perchance we know them, although they be known to few, and arenever spoken, save in utter gloom and with hidden head. But do yeknow them, those names of the beginning? For if ye know them not, OBeautiful, ye lie and ye blaspheme, and ye are food for the Snake. "

"Seldom through all the years have those holy names been spoken save inutter darkness and with covered heads, " Juanna answered boldly; "but nowis the new hour, the hour of the coming, and now they shall be calledaloud in the light of day from open lips and with uplifted eyes. Hearken, Children of the Snake, these are the names by which we wereknown in the beginning: _Aca_ is my name, the Mother of the Snake. _Jal_is he named, who is the Snake. Say, do ye know us now?"

As these words rang on her lips a groan of terror burst from every manwho heard them. Then the aged priest cried aloud: "Down upon your faces, ye Children of the Snake; Worship, all ye People of the Spear, Dwellersin the Mist! Aca, the Queen immortal, has come home again: Jal, the god, has put on the flesh of men. Olfan, lay down thy kingship, it is his: yepriests, throw wide the temples, they are theirs. Worship the Mother, dohonour to the god!"

The multitude heard and prostrated themselves like a single man, everyone of them crying in a shout of thunder:

"Aca, the Queen of life, has come; Jal, the doom-god, has put on flesh. Worship the Mother, do honour to the god!"

It was as though the army had suddenly been smitten with death, and ofthe hundreds there, Juanna and Otter alone were left standing. Therewas one exception, however, and that was Olfan, the warrior chief, whoremained upon his feet, not seeming to relish the command to abdicatehis authority thus brusquely in favour of a dwarf, were he god or man. 

Otter, who was utterly bewildered, not comprehending a word of whathad been said, and being unable to fathom the meaning of these strangeantics, pointed at the chief with his spear by way of calling Juanna'sattention to the fact that he was still standing. But the great maninterpreted the action otherwise; evidently he thought that the newlyarrived god was invoking destruction on him. His pride yielded to hissuperstition, and he sank to his knees also. 

When the sound of the worshipping had passed away Juanna spoke again, addressing the old priest. 

"Rise, my child, " she said--he might well have been hergreat-grandfather--"and rise all ye, soldiers of the Spear and servantsof the Snake, and hear my words. Ye know me now, ye know me by the holyname, ye know me by the fashion of my face, and by the red stone thatgleams upon my brow. In the beginning my blood fell yonder and wasfrozen into such gems as these, which to-day ye offer yearly to him whois my child, and slew me. Now the fate is accomplished and his reign isfinished. I come with him indeed, and he is still a god, but he loves meas a son again, and bows the knee to me in service. 

"Enough, ye know the ancient tale that is fulfilled this day. Nowwe pass on towards our city, there to sojourn with you awhile and toproclaim the law of the Ending, and we pass alone. There, in our city, let a place be made ready for us, a place apart, but nigh to the temple;and let food be brought to the place, that my servants may eat. At thegates of the city also let men be waiting to bear us to that dwelling. Let none spy upon us, lest an evil fate attend you all; and let none bedisobedient, lest we pass from you back to the land of Death and Dreams. Perchance we shall not tarry here for long, perchance we come to bring ablessing and to depart again. Therefore hasten to do our bidding, and doit all. For this time farewell, my servants. "

Having spoken thus with much dignity, accompanied by Otter, whose handshe held as before, Juanna withdrew herself, stepping backwards veryslowly towards the circle of rocks, and singing as she went. 

CHAPTER XXI

THE FOLLY OF OTTER

Juanna and Otter gained the circle of rocks where the little band laywatching and wonder-struck; that is, all except Soa, who sat apartbrooding, her arms clasped upon her breast. Things had befallen asshe expected, as they must befall indeed, provided that Juanna did notforget her lesson or show fear, and that the dwarf did nothing foolish. But Soa knew well enough that this was but the beginning of thestruggle, and that, though it might be comparatively easy for Juannaand Otter to enter the city, and impose themselves upon itssuperstition-haunted people as the incarnations of their fabled gods, the maintenance of the imposture was a very different matter. Moreover, she knew, should they be discovered, that escape would be impossible, orat the best, that it must be most difficult. Therefore she sat apart andbrooded, for, notwithstanding their present triumph, her heart forebodedevil. 

But with the others it was different: they had heard the singing, theyhad seen the regiment of great men prostrate themselves, and the soundof worshipping had come to their ears like thunder; but of the why andwherefore of it all they could only guess. 

"What has happened?" said Leonard eagerly; "your initiation seems tohave come off well. "

"Bid the men fall back and I will tell you, " Juanna answered. 

Leonard did so, but instead of speaking she broke into hystericallaughter. Her nerves had been over-strained, and now they sought reliefthus. 

"You must all be very respectful to Otter and myself, " she said atlength, "for we really are gods--don't look shocked, Francisco, I beginto believe in it myself. We have only just found it out, but I assureyou it is a fact; they accepted us fully, and that after not more thanfive minutes' cross-examination. Listen!" And she told them all that hadpassed. 

While she was speaking the regiment began to move, no longer in asquare, but in a formation of companies. Company by company it rushedpast them, shaking the earth with its footsteps, and as each sectionwent by it tossed its spears into the air as a salute, crying: "Glory tothe Mother! glory to the Snake!" and fled on towards the city. 

At length the story was done and the regiment was gone. 

"Well, " said Leonard, "so far so good. Juanna, you are the bravest andcleverest girl in the whole world. Most young women would have forgotteneverything and gone into hysterics at the critical point. "

"I kept them till afterwards, " she answered demurely. "And as for beingbrave and clever, I only repeated what Soa taught me like a parrot;you see I knew that I should be killed if I made any mistake, and suchknowledge sharpens the memory. All I have to say is, if the Snake theytalk so much about is anything like those which are tattooed upon theold priests' breasts, I have no wish to make a nearer acquaintance withit. I hate snakes. There, don't say any more"--for both Leonard andFrancisco were breaking out into fresh protestations of gratitude andadmiration; "if you want to thank anybody, thank Soa!"

"And so I do, " said Leonard heartily, for his spirits had risen in amost wonderful manner. "Soa, you have told us the truth, and you havemanaged well and I thank you. "

"Did you then take me for a liar?" the woman answered, fixing her gloomyeyes upon Leonard's face. "I told you the truth, Deliverer, when I saidthat my people would accept the Shepherdess and this black dog of yoursas their gods. But did I not tell you also that the death of the rest ofus lies in the matter? If not, I say so now. _You_ have not been named agod, Deliverer, nor has yonder Bald-pate"--the natives called Franciscothus because of his tonsure--"and your black dog will betray you by hisyapping. When you look down the jaws of the Snake, remember then thatSoa told you the truth, Deliverer. Perchance you shall find the redstones you seek hidden in his belly, White Man. "

"Be silent, " said Juanna indignantly, and Soa slunk back like a whippedhound. 

"Confound the old woman!" put in Leonard with a shiver. "She is a blackJonah, and if I have to go inside this snake I hope that it will be acase of ladies first, that is all. "

"I am sure I don't know what has happened to Soa, " said Juanna. "Hernative air has a very bad effect upon her temper. "

"Well, the future must look after itself, " answered Leonard, "snake orno snake. At present we must follow our luck. Otter, listen to me. Doyou understand that you are a god, the god of this people?"

"The god, Baas? What is a god?"

"Have I not told you, thickhead? You are not a man any more, you are aspirit. Once, so it seems, you ruled this people in the past, and nowyou will rule them again. You and the Shepherdess are both gods. She isyour mother and you are her child. "

"Yes, Baas, no doubt; but once I had another mother, a much uglier one. "

"Otter, cease to talk folly, else when you are no more a god I willbeat you. Now you are a god, and we are all your servants, except theShepherdess. When you speak to us you must speak roughly, like a greatchief to the lowest of his people, calling us dogs and slaves. If youname me 'Baas' in public, I will beat you privately when you are no morea god. You will do best to speak little or not at all, so that none cantake hold of your words, which are always foolish. "

"If you say that I am a god, Baas, it is enough, for doubtless you havemet the gods and know their ways, though it is strange that none havetold me this before. They must be an ugly people, the gods! But how willit be with the Settlement men when they hear that I am a great spirit?They will say: 'Does a spirit wait upon a man and call him chief? Doesa spirit clean the guns and cook the food of a man?' They will ask manysuch things, and the Great people will hear them. And will they thinkthen that I am a god? No, they will know me for a liar, and will kill meand all of us. "

"That is true, " said Leonard. Then he summoned Peter and the Settlementmen and addressed them. He told them that the plot had succeeded, andthat Otter and the Shepherdess were accepted as the gods of the Peopleof the Mist. Because of this they were left alive and held in honour, who, but for it, would now be dead, riddled through with the arrows ofthe Great People. He explained to them for the second time that it wasnecessary to the safety of all that this delusion as to the divinity ofOtter and the Shepherdess should be maintained, since, if the slightestsuspicion of the fraud crossed the minds of the Great People, withoutdoubt they would all be sacrificed as impostors. 

This was the tale that they must tell:--They should say that all of themwere hunting game in a far country with himself, Soa, and Francisco, when one night they heard a singing, and by the light of the moon theysaw the Shepherdess and the dwarf Otter coming towards them. Then theShepherdess and Otter commanded them to be their servants and travelwith them to a new land, and they obeyed them, black and white together, for they saw that they were not mortals. --This was the tale that theymust tell; moreover, they must act up to their words if they wouldcontinue to look upon the sun. 

But their first surprise was past, the Settlement men, who werequick-witted people, entered into the spirit of the plot readily enough;indeed, Peter caused them to repeat the story to him, so that he mightbe sure that they had its details by heart. 

Then they continued their march towards the city on the hill. The twowhite men went first, next came Juanna and Otter followed by Soa, andlast of all walked the Settlement men. An hour's journey brought them tothe bank of the river, which, dividing above it, engirdled the town, toreunite near the roadway that they followed. Here canoes were ready totake them across to the island, or rather the peninsula, on whichthe city was built. On the other side of the river they found priestswaiting in the great gateway with two litters that had been prepared forJuanna and Otter respectively. This, the further bank, was lined withsome thousands of spectators, who, when the divine pair set their feetupon its shores, prostrated themselves, men, women, and children, andburst into a shout of welcome. 

Juanna and Otter took no heed. With such dignity as they could command, and in the dwarf's case it was not much, they entered the litters, drew the hide curtains, and were borne forward swiftly. After them cameLeonard, Francisco, and the others, while the population followed insilence. 

Now the sun was sinking, but enough of daylight was left to show howstrange were the place and the people among which they found themselves. The city, indeed, was rudely built of like materials and in similarfashion to the house in the plain that has been described already. Butthe streets were roughly paved; each habitation stood apart from theother in its own garden, and the gates were of wood, fastened togetherwith primitive iron bolts. There were drinking-shops, or rather booths, and a large market-place, which they crossed as they ascended the hill, and where, as they afterwards discovered, this people carried on theirtrade, if trade it could be called, for they had no money, and conductedall transactions like other savages, upon a principle of barter. 

As they went Leonard took note of these things, which, to his mind, showed clearly that the inhabitants of this city were the degenerateinheritors of some ancient and forgotten civilisation. Theirfortifications, stone-built houses, drinking-shops, and marketsindicated this, just as their rude system of theology, with itsdivinities of Light and Darkness, or of Death and Life, each springingfrom the other, engaged in an eternal struggle, and yet one, wasprobably the survival of some elaborate nature-myth of the early world. 

But nothing struck him so much as the appearance of the people. In sizethey were almost giants, a peculiarity which was shared by thewomen, some of whom measured six feet in height. In common with otheruncivilised races most of these women were little except a girdle and agoat-skin cloak that hung loosely upon their shoulders, displaying theirmagnificent proportions somewhat freely. They were much handsomer thanthe men, having splendid solemn eyes, very white teeth, and a remarkabledignity of gait. Their faces, however, wore the same sombre look asthose of their husbands and brothers, and they did not chatter afterthe manner of their sex, but contented themselves with pointing out thepeculiarities of the strangers in a few brief words to their children orto one another. 

After crossing the market-place the party came to a long and gentleascent, which terminated at a wall surrounding the lower of the twogreat buildings that they had seen from the plain. Passing its gatesthey halted at the doors of the first of these edifices. Here priestsstood with torches--at least, they judged them to be priests from thesymbol of the snake's head tattooed upon their naked breasts--ready toconduct them to their lodging, for now the night was closing in rapidly. Soon they found themselves within the walls of a great house, built inthe usual way with rough boulders, but on three sides of a square, andenclosing a courtyard in which a fountain bubbled. The furniture ofthe house was rude but grotesquely carved, and in the courtyard stooda throne, sheltered by a roof of turf, and fashioned of black wood andivory, with feet shaped like those of a human being. Indeed, as theyafterwards discovered, this was the palace of the king, Olfan, who hadbeen summarily ejected by the priests to make room for the newcomers. 

Here in this strange dwelling the attendant priests assigned them allquarters, the Settlement men in one wing, Leonard, Francisco and Soa inthe other, and Juanna and Otter in two separate apartments in the bodyof the building. This arrangement involved the separation of theparty, but it was difficult to offer objections, so they were forced toacquiesce in it. Presently women entered bearing food, boiled corn, milkin bowls, and roasted flesh in plenty, of which Leonard and Franciscoate with thankfulness. 

Before they went to sleep Leonard looked into the courtyard, and wassomewhat alarmed to find that guards were stationed at every door, whilein front of those leading to the apartments of Juanna and Otter stood abody of priests with torches in their hands. He made an effort to passthrough these guards in order to visit Juanna, but without a wordthey lifted their great spears and stopped him, and for that time heabandoned the attempt. 

"Why do the priests stand before the door of the Shepherdess, Soa?"asked Leonard. 

"They guard the place of the gods, " she answered. "Unless the gods willit, none may enter there. "

"Say, Soa, " Leonard asked again, "are you not afraid of being here inyour own land?"

"I am much afraid, Deliverer, for if I am found out then I die. Yet manyyears have gone by since I fled; few live who knew me, and, perchance, none remember me. Also now I do not wear my hair after the fashion ofmy people, and therefore I may escape, unless the priests discover me bytheir magic. And now I would sleep. "

On the following morning at dawn Leonard rose and, accompanied byFrancisco, walked into the courtyard. This time the soldiers did not tryto stop them, but the priests were still standing in front of Juanna'sdoor, looking like spectres in the grey mist. They went to them andsignified by signs that they would worship the Queen, but were sternlyrefused admission in words which they could not understand, but thatSoa, who was listening, afterwards translated to them. 

"The Mother had come to her home, " said the spokesman, "and might beprofaned no more by the eyes of the vulgar. The Snake also was in hishome, and none should look upon him. "

When arguments failed Leonard tried to force his way through, and wasmet by a huge spear pointed at his throat. How things would have endedit is difficult to say had not Juanna herself appeared at this juncture, standing between the curtains of the doorway. At the sight of her thepriests and soldiers fell upon their faces, and Leonard had sufficientpresence of mind to follow their example, dragging Francisco down besidehim. 

"What is this tumult?" she asked the guards in their own tongue. 

"I tell you what it is, Juanna, " said Leonard, rubbing his head upon theground and speaking in English. "If you do not come to an understandingwith these scoundrels, you will soon be cut of from all communicationwith us, and what is more, we shall be cut off too in another way. Willyou be so good as to issue an order that we are to be admitted when welike?"

Juanna turned towards the priest and spoke angrily:

"Who has dared to forbid my servants to come before me and worship me?My will is my own, and I only make it known. It is my will that thesewhite men and yonder black woman pass in before me at their pleasure. "

"Your will is our will, Mother, " said the priests humbly. 

So they went in, and the curtains were closed behind them. 

"I am so thankful to see you, " said Juanna. "You don't know howdreadfully lonely it has been in this great room all night, and I amafraid of those solemn-eyed priests who stand round the doors. The womenwho brought me food last evening crawled about the place on all fourslike dogs; it was horrible!"

"I am sorry that you have been left alone, " said Leonard, "but you musttry to make better arrangements. Soa might sleep with you, at any rate. Where is Otter? Let us pay him a visit; I want to see how the god isgetting on. "

Juanna went to the door and addressed the priests, saying that shedesired to be led before the Snake, and her servants with her. Theydemurred a little, then gave way, and all four of them were conducted, first into the courtyard, in which no human being was to be seen, andthence to an adjoining chamber, where a curious sight awaited them. In ahuge chair set upon a dais sat Otter, looking furious and by no means atease; while stretched upon the ground in front of him lay four priests, who muttered prayers unceasingly. 

"Welcome, Baas!" he cried in rapture at the sight of Leonard. "Welcome, Shepherdess!"

"You idiot!" answered Leonard in Dutch, but speaking in the most humblevoice, and sinking to his knees. "If you will not remember that you area god, I will pay you out so soon as we are alone. Bid these fellowsbegone; the Shepherdess will translate for you. "

"Go, dogs!" said Otter, taking the hint; "go, and bring me food. I wouldspeak with my servant, who is named Baas, and with my mother. "

"These are the words of the Snake that he speaks in the holy tongue, "said Juanna, and she translated them. 

The four priests rose, and bowing to the earth, crept backwards from theroom. So soon as they were gone, Otter leaped from his throne with anexclamation of rage that caused the others to burst out laughing. 

"Laugh, Baas, laugh if you will!" said the dwarf, "for you have neverbeen a god, and don't know what it is. What think you, Baas?--all nightlong I have sat upon that great stool, while those accursed dogs burntstinking stuff beneath my nostrils and muttered nonsense. One hour moreand I should have fallen on them and killed them, for I have had nomeat, and hunger makes me mad. "

"Hush!" said Leonard, "I hear footsteps! On to your throne, Otter!Quick, Juanna! stand by his side; we will kneel!"

They had barely time to obey when the curtains were drawn, and a priestentered, holding a vessel of wood covered with a cloth. Slowly hecrept towards the throne, with his head bent almost to his knees; then, straightening himself suddenly, he lifted up the wooden vessel and criedaloud:

"We bring you food, O Snake. Eat and be satisfied. "

Otter took the dish, and, lifting the cloth, gazed upon its contentshungrily, but with an ever-growing dissatisfaction. 

"Son of a dog!" he cried in his own tongue, "is this food to set beforea man?" And he held the platter downwards, exposing its contents. 

They were simple, consisting of various sorts of vegetables andwatercress--poor in quality, for the season was winter, and all ofthem uncooked. In the centre of this fodder--whether placed there inobedience to some religious tradition or by way of ornament, or perhapsto assist the digestive process of the god, as a tenpenny nail is saidto assist that of an ostrich--was a fine ruby stone; not so big, indeed, as that which Soa had given to Leonard, but still of considerablesize and value. Leonard saw it with delight, but not so the dwarf, theselfish promptings of whose stomach caused him to forget that hismaster had journeyed far to seek such gems as this. In the fury of hisdisappointed appetite he stood upon the footstool of the throne, and, seizing the ruby, he hurled it at the priest, hitting him fair betweenthe eyes. 

"Am I an eel?" he roared, "that I should live on water-grass, and redgravel?"

Then the priest, terrified at the behaviour of this strange divinity, picked up the offending gem--to the presence of which he attributed hisanger--and fled, never looking behind him. 

Juanna and Francisco were seized with uncontrollable laughter, whileeven Soa deigned to smile. But Leonard did not smile. 

"Oh, you last descendant of generations of asses!" he said bitterly. "You ass with four ears and a tenfold bray! What have you done? You havehurled the precious stone at the head of him who brought it, and now hewill bring no more. Had it not been for you, doubtless with every mealsuch stones would have been offered to you, and though you grew thin weshould all of us have become rich, and that without trouble, tricks, orviolence. "

"Forgive me, Baas, " lamented Otter, "but my rage took away my reason, and I forgot. See now what it is to be a god. It is to be fed upon stuffsuch as would gripe an ox. Oh, Baas, I would that these wild men hadmade you a god and left me your servant!" And again he gazed withdisgust upon the watercress and rows of leathery vegetables resemblingturnips. 

"You had better eat them, Otter, " said Juanna, who was still chokingwith laughter. "If you don't you may get nothing more for days. Evidently you are supposed to have a small appetite. "

Then, driven to it by his ravening hunger, the wretched Otter fell uponthe turnips and munched them sullenly, Leonard rating him all the whilefor his unequalled stupidity. 

Scarcely had he finished his meal when there was a stir without, andonce again priests entered, headed on this occasion by that same agedman who had acted as a spokesman when Juanna declared herself on theprevious day, and who, as they had discovered, was named Nam. In facthe had many other and much longer names, but as this was the shortest admost convenient of them, they adopted it. 

It chanced that Leonard was standing by Soa, and when this priestentered, whom she now saw face to face for the first time, he noticedthat she started, trembled, and then drew back into the shadow of thethrone. 

"Some friend of the old lady's youth, " thought Leonard to himself. "Ihope he won't recognise her, that is all. "

Nam bent himself in adoration before the gods, then began an address, the substance of which Juanna translated from time to time. Bitterly didhe grieve, he said, that such an insult had been offered to the Snakeas the presenting to him among his food of the red stone, known as theBlood of Aca. That man who had done this folly was doomed to die, if, indeed, he were not already dead. Well could they understand that, theMother and Snake having become reconciled, the proffering to Jal of thatwhich reminded him of the sin of long ago was a wickedness that mightbring a curse upon the land. Let the Snake be appeased. Command had beengiven that all such stones should be hidden in a secret place by him whohad wrought the crime, and, as he had said, if the man returned alivefrom that place he should be slain. But he would not return alive, for to go thither was death, as it should be death henceforth even tomention that stone, of which but one should now be seen in the land, that which the Mother wore in memory of the past. 

"O Otter, my friend, " murmured Leonard to himself, "if I don't make youpay for this, my name is not Outram!"

But enough of the stones, went on Nam; he had come upon a more importantmatter. That night an assembly of all the tribe would be held in thegreat temple an hour before moonrise, that the Mother and the Snakemight take up their royalty in the presence of the people. Thither theywould come to lead them and their servants at the appointed time. Wasthis pleasing to the gods?

Juanna bent her head in assent, and the priest turned to go with manyobeisances; but before he went he spoke again, asking if all things wereas the gods desired. 

"Not altogether, my servant, " answered Juanna. "It is our will thatthese, our other servants, should have free access to us at all timesand without question. Also, it is our will that their food should bebrought to them with our food. Moreover, it is the desire of the Snakethat no more grass should be given to him to eat; for now, in theselatter days, having put on the flesh of men, he needs that which willsupport the flesh. One thing more, my servant; the Snake forgives theaffront that was offered him, and I command that some of the greatestof the holy stones should be brought to me, that I may look on the bloodwhich I shed so long ago. "

"Alas! it may not be, Mother, " answered the priest in tones of sorrow. "All the stones, both red and blue, have been placed in bags of hide andcast into that place whence they can be brought no more, together withhim who offended. Nor can others be gathered at this season of the year, seeing that deep snow covers the place where they lie buried. In thesummer, when the sun has melted the snow, more can be found, if youreyes still desire the sight of them. "

Juanna made no reply, and the priest went. 

"Here is a pretty business, " said Leonard. "That idiot Otter has upseteverything. We might have become millionaires for the asking, and nowwe must wait for months before we so much as get sight of a ruby or asapphire. "

Nobody answered. Indeed, the whole party were plunged into consternationat the fatal effects of this accident. As for Otter himself, when heunderstood fully what he had done, he almost wept for grief. 

"Who could have known, Baas?" he groaned. "It was the sight of the greenfood that bewitched me, who have always hated the taste of grass. Andnow my folly has undone all, and it seems that I must be a god for manymonths, if, indeed, they do not find me out. "

"Never mind, Otter, " said Leonard, moved to pity by the dwarf's genuinegrief. "You have lost the stones and you will have to find them againsomehow. By the way, Soa, why did you start so when the old priest camein?"

"Because he is my father, Deliverer, " she answered. 

Leonard whistled; here was a new complication. What if Nam shouldrecognise her?

CHAPTER XXII

THE TEMPLE OF JAL

In considerable agitation of mind Leonard bid good-bye to Juanna, promising to return soon, and went to visit the Settlement men, whom hehad not seen since the previous evening. 

He found them in good case enough, so far as their material comfort wasconcerned, for they were well supplied with food and warmly lodged. Somuch could not be said, however, of their mental state, for they wereterrified by the multitude of solemn priests and warriors who watchedthem as cats watch mice. Crouching round him dejectedly they imploredLeonard not to leave them, saying that they expected to be murderedevery minute. He pacified them as well as he could and left them withthe assurance that he would return presently, having first reminded themthat the lives of all depended upon the maintenance of the delusion asto the divinity of Otter and the Shepherdess. 

The remainder of that day passed heavily enough. After the firstexcitement of their strange position had gone by a reaction set in, andeverybody was much depressed. As the hours drew on, the mist, which hadlifted a little about ten o'clock, closed in very densely, throwingthe ill-lighted chamber where they sat into a deep gloom. In such anatmosphere conversation languished; indeed, at times it died altogether, and the only sound to be heard was that of the monotonous voices of thepriests without the curtains, as they muttered prayers unceasingly. Atlength Leonard could bear it no longer, but rose, declaring that hewas going out to see whatever might be seen. Juanna tried faintly todissuade him, and Otter wished to come too, which was impossible. Theend of it was that he went alone. 

First he revisited the Settlement men and tried to cheer them, and sadlydid they need cheering. Then he passed to the great gates of the palaceyard and looked through them. The mist had lifted a little, and about ahundred paces away he could perceive the doors of the temple, on eitherside of which rose Cyclopean walls fifty feet or more in height. It wasobvious that here preparations for some ceremony were in progress, andon a large scale, for immense crowds of people were gathered about thedoors, through which bodies of priests and armed men passed continually. More he could not learn, for the gates of the palace yard were barredand guarded, and the soldiers would not let him through. He stood bythem watching till sunset, then returning to the others, he told themwhat he had seen. 

Another hour passed, and suddenly the curtains were drawn aside and abody of priests entered, twelve in number, bearing large candles of fatin their hands, and headed by their chief, Nam. Prostrating themselvesbefore Juanna and Otter they remained plunged in silence. 

"Speak on, " said Juanna at length. 

"We come, O Mother, and O Snake, " said the priest Nam, "to lead you tothe temple that the people may look upon their gods. "

"It is well; lead on, " Juanna answered. 

"First you must be robed, Mother, " said Nam, "for without the templenone may look upon your divinity, save your priests alone. "

Rising as he spoke, he produced a black dress from a grass bag, whichwas carried by an attendant. This dress was very curious. It fastened infront with buttons of horn, and either was, or seemed to be, woven in asingle piece from the softest hair of black-fleeced goats. Moreover, ithad sleeves just long enough to leave the hands of the wearer visible, and beneath its peaked cap was a sort of mask with three slits, two forthe eyes and one for the mouth. 

Juanna retired to put on this hideous garment over her white robe, andreappeared presently, looking like the black ghost of a mediaeval monk. Then the priests gave her two flowers, a red lily and a white, to beheld in either hand, and it appeared that her equipment was complete. Next they came to Otter and bound a scarlet fringe of hair about hisforehead in such fashion that the fringe hid his eyes, at the sametime placing in his hand a sceptre of ivory, apparently of very ancientworkmanship, and fashioned in the shape of a snake standing on its tail. 

"All is prepared, " said Nam. 

"Lead on, " answered Juanna again. "But let our servants come with us, both those here and those without, save the woman only, who stays tomake ready for our return. "

Juanna spoke thus because Soa had announced her wish to be left behindwhen they went to the temple. Juanna had consulted Leonard on thesubject, who gave it as his opinion that Soa had good reasons of her ownfor making this request. Also he pointed out that in case of disturbanceshe could scarcely help them, and might possibly prove an encumbrance. 

"They wait, " answered Nam; "all is prepared for _them_ also": and as hespoke a sardonic smile flickered on his withered countenance that madeLeonard feel very uncomfortable. What was prepared, he wondered?

They passed through the curtains into the courtyard, where soldiers, clad in goat-skin cloaks, waited with two litters. Here also werethe Settlement men, armed, but in an extremity of fear, for they wereguarded by about fifty of the Great People, also armed. 

Juanna and Otter entered the litters, behind which Leonard formed up hislittle band, going in front of it himself with Francisco, both of themhaving rifles in their hands and revolvers at their girdles, of which noattempt was made to deprive them, for none knew their use. 

Then they started, surrounded by the bare-breasted priests, who chantedand waved torches as they walked, and preceded and followed by thegrim files of tall soldiers, on whose spears the torch-light flashedominously. As they came the gates of the palace yard were opened. Theypassed them and across the space beyond until they reached the doors ofthe temple, which were thrown wide before them. 

Here Otter and Juanna descended from the litters, and all the torcheswere extinguished, leaving them in darkness. 

Leonard felt his hand seized and was led along, he knew not where, forthe misty gloom was intense. He could scarcely see the face even ofthe priest who conducted them, but from the sounds he gathered that alltheir party were being guided in a similar fashion. Once or twice alsohe heard the voice of a Settlement man speaking in accents of fear orcomplaint, but such demonstrations were followed quickly by the soundof a heavy blow, dealt, no doubt, by the priest or soldier in charge ofthat individual. Evidently it was expected that all should be silent. Presently Leonard became aware that they had left the open space acrosswhich they were walking, for the air grew close and their footsteps ranghollow on the rocky floor. 

"I believe that we are in a tunnel, " whispered Francisco. 

"Silence, dog, " hissed a priest in his ear. "Silence, this place isholy. "

They did not understand the meaning of the words at the moment, but thetone in which they were spoken made their purport sufficiently clear. Leonard took the hint, and at the same time clutched his rifle moretightly. He began to be afraid for their safety. Whither were they beingled--to a dungeon? Well, they would soon know, and at the worst it wasnot probable that these barbarians would harm Juanna. They followedthe tunnel or passage for about a hundred and fifty paces; at first itsloped downwards, then the floor became level till at length they beganto ascend a stair. There were sixty-one stone steps in this stairway, for Leonard counted them, each about ten inches high, and when all wereclimbed they advanced eleven paces along a tunnel that echoed strangelyto their steps, and was so low that they must bend their heads to passit. Emerging from this tunnel through a narrow opening, they stood upona platform also of stone, and once more the chill night air fanned theirbrows. 

So dense was the gloom that Leonard could tell nothing of the placewhere they might be, but from far beneath them rose a hissing soundas of seething water, and combined with it another sound of faintmurmuring, as though thousands of people whispered each to each. Alsofrom time to time he heard a rustling like that of a forest whena gentle wind stirs its leaves, or the rustling of the robes ofinnumerable women. 

This sense of the presence of hidden waters and of an unseen multitudewas strange and terrifying in the extreme. It was as though, withoutperceiving them, their human faculties suddenly became aware of thespirits of the unnumbered dead, thronging, watching, following--there, but intangible; speaking without words, touching without hands. 

Leonard was tempted to cry aloud, so great was the strain upon hisnerves, which usually were strong enough; nor was he alone in thisdesire. Presently a sound arose from below him, as of some person inhysterics, and he heard a priest command silence in a fierce voice. The sobbing and laughter went on till it culminated in a shrill scream. After the scream came the thud of a blow, a heavy fall, a groan, andonce again the invisible multitudes whispered and rustled. 

"Someone has been killed, " muttered Francisco in Leonard's ear; "who isit, I wonder?"

Leonard shuddered, but made no answer, for a great hand was placed uponhis mouth in warning. 

At length the portentous silence was broken and a voice spoke, the voiceof Nam the priest. In the silence all that he uttered could be heardplainly, but his words came from far away, and the sound of them wasstill and small. This was what he said, as Juanna told it to them afterthe ceremony. 

"Hear me, ye Children of the Snake, ye ancient People of the Mist!Hearken to me, Nam, the priest of the Snake! Many a generation gone inthe beginning of time, so runs the legend, the Mother goddess whom weworship from of old, descended from heaven and came hither to us, andwith her came the Snake, her child. While she tarried in the land thecrime of crimes was wrought, the Darkness slew the Daylight, and shepassed hence, we know not how, or where; and from that hour the land hasbeen a land of mist, and its people have wandered in the mist, for hewhose name is Darkness has ruled over them, answering their prayers withdeath. But this doom was on the Snake, that because of his wickedness hemust put off the flesh of men and descend into the holy place of waters, where, as we and our fathers have known, his symbol dwells eternally, taking tribute of the lives of men. 

"Yet ere that crime was wrought the Mother gave a word of promise to herpeople. 'Now that I am about to die at the hands of him I bore, for soit is fated, ' she said. 'But not for ever do I leave you, and not forever shall the Snake be punished by putting off the flesh of men. Manygenerations shall go by and we will return again and rule over you, andthe veil of mist shall be lifted from your land, and ye shall be greatin the earth. Till then, choose you kings and let them govern you;moreover, forget not my worship, and see to it that throughout the agesthe altar of the Snake is wet with blood, and that he lacks not the foodhe loves. And I will give you a sign by which we shall be known when atlength the fate is accomplished, and the hour of forgiveness is at hand. 

"'As a fair maid will I come again, a maid lovely and white, but becauseof his sin the Snake shall appear in the shape of that which sits withinyour temple, and his hue shall be black and his face hideous. Out of theearth will we arise, and we will call to you and ye shall know us, andwe will tell you our holy names that shall not be spoken aloud fromthis hour to that hour of our coming. But beware lest ye be deceivedand false gods set themselves up among you, for then shall the last evilfall upon you and the sun shall hide his face. '

"Thus, Children of the Mist, did the Mother speak to him who was herchief priest in the long ago, and he graved her words with iron on thestone of that whereon I stand, but none can read that writing, for itssecret is lost to us, although the prophecy remains. And now the time isfull, and it has been given to me, his successor, in my old age, to seethe fulfilment of the saying. 

"The time is full, and this night the promise of the past isaccomplished, for, People of the Mist, the immortal gods, whose namesare holy, have appeared to rule their children. Yesterday they came, ye saw them, and in your ears they called aloud the sacred names. As amaiden fair and white, and as a dwarf black and hideous, have theycome, and _Aca_ is the name of the maiden, and _Jal_ is the name of thedwarf. "

He ceased, and his voice died away in the echoes of the great place. Once again there was silence, broken only by the seething sound ofwaters and the indefinable murmur of an unseen throng beneath. 

Leonard stood awhile, then edged himself gently forward with the designof discovering where and upon what they were standing. His curiositysoon met with a violent check, for before he had gone a yard he feltthat his right foot was dangling in space, and it was only by a strongeffort that he prevented himself from falling, whither he knew not. 

Recovering his balance, he shuffled himself back again to the side ofFrancisco, and whispered a warning to him not to move if he valued hislife. As Leonard spoke, he noticed that the blackness of the nightwas turning grey with the light of the unrisen moon. Already her rays, striking upwards, brightened the sky above and the mountains behind, and from them fell a pale reflection, which grew gradually stronger andclearer. 

Now he could discover that close upon him to the left a black masstowered high into the air, and that far beneath him gleamed somethinglike the foam on broken water. For a time he watched this water, orwhatever it might be, until a smothered exclamation from Franciscocaused him to look up again. As he looked, the edge of the moon roseabove the temple wall, and by slow degrees a wonderful sight wasrevealed to him. Not till the moon was fully visible did he seeeverything, and to describe all as he discovered it, piecemeal, would bedifficult. This was what Leonard saw at length. 

Before him and underneath him lay a vast and roofless building, open tothe east, covering some two acres of ground, and surrounded by Titanicwalls, fifty feet or more in height. This building was shaped like aRoman amphitheatre, but, with the exception of the space immediatelybelow him, its area was filled with stone seats, and round its widecircumference stone seats rose tier on tier. These were all occupied bymen and women in hundreds, and, except at the further end, scarcely aplace was empty. At the western extremity of the temple a huge statuetowered seventy or eighty feet into the air, hewn, to all appearance, from a mass of living rock. Behind this colossus, and not more thana hundred paces from it, the sheer mountain rose, precipice uponprecipice, to the foot of a white peak clad in eternal snow. It was thepeak that they had seen from the plain when the mist lifted, and thestatue was the dark mass beneath it which had excited their curiosity. 

This fearful colossus was fashioned to the shape of a huge dwarf ofhideous countenance, seated with bent arms outstretched in a forwarddirection, and palms turned upwards as though to bear the weight of thesky. The statue stood, or rather sat, upon a platform of rock; and notmore than four paces from its base, so that the outstretched hands andslightly bowed head overhung it indeed, was a circular gulf measuring, perhaps, thirty yards across, in which seething waters raged and boiled. Whence they came and whither they went it was impossible to see, butLeonard discovered afterwards that here was the source of the riverwhich they had followed for so many days. Escaping from the gulf byunderground passages that it had hollowed for itself through the solidrock, the two branches of the torrent passed round the walls of thetown, to unite again in the plain below. How the pool itself wassupplied Leonard was destined to learn in after days. 

Between the steep polished sides of the rock basin and the feet of thestatue was placed an altar, or sacrificial stone. Here on this ledge, which covered an area no greater than that of a small room, and in frontof the altar, stood a man bound, in whom Leonard recognised Olfan, theking, while on either side of him were priests, naked to the waist, andarmed with knives. Behind them again stood the little band of Settlementmen, trembling with terror. Nor were their fears groundless, for thereamong them lay one of their number, dead. This was the man whose nervehad broken down, who shrieked aloud in the darkness, and in reward hadbeen smitten into everlasting silence. 

All this Leonard saw by degrees, but the first thing that he saw hasnot yet been told. Long before the brilliant rays of the moon lit theamphitheatre they struck upon the huge head of the dwarf idol, andthere, on this giddy perch, some seventy feet from the ground, andnearly a hundred above the level of the pool of seething water, satJuanna herself, enthroned in an ivory chair. She had been divested ofher black cloak, and was clad in the robe of snowy linen cut low uponher breast, and fastened round her waist with a girdle. Her dark hairflowed about her shoulders; in either hand she held the lilies, red andwhite, and upon her forehead glowed the ruby like a blood-red star. Shesat quite still, her eyes set wide in horror; and first the moonlightgleamed upon the gem bound to her forehead, next it showed the pale andlovely face beneath, then her snowy arms and breast, the whiteness ofher robes, and the hideous demon head whereon her throne was fixed. 

No spirit could have seemed more beautiful than this woman set thuson high in that dark place of blood and fear. Indeed, in the unearthlylight she looked like a spirit, the spirit of beauty triumphing overthe hideousness of hell, the angel of light trampling the Devil and hisworks. 

It was not wonderful that this fierce and barbarous people sighedlike reeds before the wind when her loveliness dawned upon them, madeethereal by the moon, or that thenceforth Leonard could never think ofher quite as he thought of any other woman. Under such conditions mostwell-favoured women would have appeared beautiful; Juanna did more, sheseemed divine. 

As the light grew downward and the shadows thinned before it, Leonardfollowed with his eyes, and presently he discovered Otter. The dwarf, naked except for his girdle and the fringe upon his head, was alsoenthroned, holding the ivory sceptre in his hand, but in a seat of ebonyplaced upon the knees of the colossus, nearly forty feet below Juanna. 

Then Leonard turned to consider Francisco's position and his own, andfound it terrible enough. Indeed, the moment that he discovered it wasnigh to being his last. In company with two priests of the Snake, theywere standing on the palm of the right hand of the idol, that formed alittle platform some six feet square, which they had won in the darknessthrough a tunnel hewn in the arm of stone. There they stood unprotectedby any railing or support, and before them and on either side of themwas a sheer drop of some ninety feet to the water beneath or of fifty tothe rock of the platform. 

Leonard saw, and for a moment turned faint and dizzy, then, setting thebutt of his rifle on to the stone, he leaned upon the barrel tillhis brain cleared. It was well for him that he had not known what laybeneath when, but now, he thrust his foot into vacancy, for then hissenses might have failed him. 

Suddenly he remembered Francisco, and opened his eyes, which he hadclosed to shut out the sight of the yawning gulf beneath. It was nottoo soon. The priest had seen also, and consciousness was desertinghim; even as Leonard turned his knees gave way, and he sank forward anddownward. 

Quick as thought Leonard stretched out his right hand and caughtFrancisco by the robe he wore, then, resting his weight upon the rifle, he strained at the priest's falling body with all his force in sucha manner that its direction was turned, and it fell sideways upon theplatform, not downwards into space. Leonard dragged at him again, andthrust him into the mouth of the little tunnel through which they hadreached this dreadful eminence, where he lay quiet and safe, lost inblessed insensibility. 

All this took place in a few seconds. The two priests of the Snake, whostood by them as calmly as though their feet were still on the solidearth, saw, but made no movement. Only Leonard thought that they smiledgrimly, and a horrible fear struck his heart like a breath of ice. Whatif they waited a signal to cast him down? It might well be so. Alreadyhe had seen enough of their rites to enable him to guess that theirs wasa religion of blood and human sacrifice. 

He shivered, and again turned faint, so faint indeed that he did notdare to keep his feet, but sank into a sitting posture, resting his backagainst the stone of the idol's thumb. 

CHAPTER XXIII

HOW JUANNA CONQUERED NAM

Still the silence endured, and still the moonlight grew, creeping lowerand lower till it shone upon the face of the seething waters, and, except in the immediate shadow of the walls, all the amphitheatre wasfull of it. 

Then the voice of Nam spoke again from far away, and Leonard looked tosee whence he spoke. Now he saw. Nam, attended by three priests, wasperched like an eagle on the left palm of the colossus, and from thisdizzy platform he addressed the multitude. Looking across the breast ofthe statue, Leonard could just see the outstretched arm and the fierceface of the high priest as he glared down upon the people. 

"Hearken, ye Dwellers in the Mist, Children of the Snake! Ye have seenyour ancient gods, your Father and your Mother, come back to rule youand to lead you on through war to peace, to wealth, to power, and toglory. Ye see them now by that light and in that place wherein only itis lawful that ye should look upon them. Say, do ye believe and do yeaccept them? Answer, every one of you, answer with your voice!"

Then a mighty roar of sound went up from the gathered thousands, a roarthat shaped itself into the words:

"We believe and we accept. "

"It is well, " said Nam when the tumult had died away. "Hearken, ye highgods! O Aca! and O Jal! Bend down your ears and deign to hearken to yourpriest and servant, speaking in the name of your children, the Peopleof the Mist. Be ye kings to reign over us! Accept the power and thesacrifice, and sit in the place of kings. We give you rule through allthe land; the life of every dweller in the land is yours; yours aretheir cattle and their goats, their city and their armies. For you thealtars shall run red, the cry of the victim shall be music in your ears. Ye shall look upon him whom long ago ye set to guard the secret awfulplace, and he shall crawl beneath your feet. As ye ruled our fathers soye shall rule us, according to the customs which ye laid down for ever. Glory be to you, O Aca, and to you, O Jal! immortal kings for evermore!"

And in a shout that rent the skies the great audience echoed: "Glory beto you, O Aca, and to you, O Jal, immortal kings for evermore!"

Then Nam spoke again, saying: "Bring forth the virgin, that fair maidwho is destined to the Snake, that he may look upon her and accept heras his wife. Bring her forth also who, twelve months gone, was vowed inmarriage to the Shape of stone, that she may bid her lord farewell. "

As he spoke there was a stir behind the idol, and presently from eachside of it a woman was led forward by two priests on to the little spaceof rock between its feet and the edge of the gulf, and placed one to theright of the altar, and one to the left. Both these women were tall andlovely with the dark and somewhat terrifying beauty of the People of theMist, but there the resemblance between them ended. She to the right wasnaked except for a girdle of snake-skin and the covering of her abundanthair, which was crowned with a wreath of red lilies similar to theflower that the priests had given to Juanna. She to the left, on thecontrary, was clothed in a black robe round which was broidered theshape of a blood-red snake, whose head rested upon her breast. Leonardnoticed that the appearance of this woman was that of extreme terror, for she shrank and trembled, whereas that of the flower-crowned bridewas jubilant and even haughty. 

For a moment the two women stood still while the people gazed upon them. Then, at a signal from Nam, she who was crowned with flowers was ledbefore the altar, and thrice she bowed the knee to the idol, or ratherto Otter who sat upon it. Now all eyes were fixed on the dwarf, whostared at the girl but made no sign, which was not wonderful, seeingthat he had no inkling of the meaning of the ceremony. As it chanced, he could not have acted more wisely, at least in the interests of thebride, for here, as elsewhere, silence was held to give consent. 

"Behold, the god accepts, " cried Nam, "the beauty of the maid ispleasing in his eyes. Stand aside, Saga, the blessed, that the peoplemay look upon you and know you. Hail to you, wife of the Snake!"

Smiling triumphantly the girl moved back to her place by the altar, andturned her proud face to the people. Then the multitude shouted:

"Hail to you, bride of the Snake! Hail to you, the blessed, chosen ofthe god!"

While the tumult still lasted, the woman who was clad in the black robewas led forward, and when it had died away she also made her obeisancebefore the idol. 

"Away with her that she may seek her Lord in his own place, " cried Nam. 

"Away with her, her day is done, " echoed the multitude. Then, beforeJuanna could interfere, before she could even speak, for, be itremembered, she alone understood all that was said, the two priests whoguarded the doomed woman rent the robe from her and with one swing oftheir strong arms hurled her backwards far into the pool of seethingwaters. 

She fell with a shriek and lay floating on their surface, flung this wayand that by the eddy of the whirlpool just where the moonlight beat mostbrightly. All who could of the multitude bent forward to see her end, and overcome by a fearful fascination, Leonard threw himself on hisface, and, craning his head over the stone of the idol's hand, watchedalso, for the girl's struggling shape was almost immediately beneathhim. Another minute and he would have foregone the hope of winning thetreasure which he had come so far to seek, not to have yielded to theimpulse. 

For as he stared, the waters beneath the feet of the idol were agitatedas a pond is agitated by the rush of a pike when he dashes at his prey. Then for an instant the light gleamed upon a dull enormous shape, andsuddenly the head of a crocodile reared itself out of the pool. The headof a crocodile, but of such a crocodile as he had never heard or dreamedof, for this head alone was broader than the breast of the biggest man, its dull eyes were the size of a man's fist, its yellow fangs were likethe teeth of a lion, and from its lower jaw hung tentacles or lumpsof white flesh which at that distance gave it the appearance of beingbearded like a goat. Also, the skin of this huge reptile, which couldnot have measured less than fifty feet in length by four feet in depth, was here and there corroded into rusty excrescences, as though somefungus or lichen had grown upon it like grey moss on an ancient wall. Indeed, its appearance seemed to point to extreme antiquity. [*]

[*] Crocodiles are proverbially long-lived, but Leonard could neverdiscover the age of this particular reptile. On enquiry he was able totrace it back for three hundred yards, and tradition said that it hadalways dwelt among the People of the Mist from "the beginning of time. "At least it was very old, and under the name of the Snake had been anobject of worship for many generations. How it came among the People ofthe Mist is difficult to say, for no other specimen appeared to exist inthe country. Perhaps it was captured in some distant age and placed inthe cave by the priests, to figure as an incarnation of the Snake thatwas the object of their worship. 

Hearing the disturbance in the water, the reptile had emerged from thecave where it dwelt beneath the feet of the idol, to seek its accustomedfood, which consisted of the human victims that were cast to it atcertain intervals. It reared its hideous head and glared round, then ofa sudden the monster and the victim vanished together into the depths. 

Sick with horror Leonard drew himself back into a sitting posture, andglanced up at Juanna. She was crouched in her ivory chair overcome, andher eyes were closed, either through faintness or to shut out the sightof dread. Then he looked down at Otter. The dwarf, staring fixedly atthe water, sat still as the stone effigy that supported him. Evidentlyin all his varied experience he had seen no such thing as this. 

"The Snake has accepted the sacrifice, " cried Nam again; "the Snake hastaken her who was his bride to dwell with him in his holy house. Let theofferings be completed, for this is but the first-fruit. Take Olfan whowas king, and offer him up. Cast down the white servants of the Mother, and offer them up. Seize the slaves who stood before her in the plain, and offer them up. Lead forth the captives, and offer them up. Let thesacrifice of the Crowning of Kings be accomplished according to custom, that the god whose name is Jal may be appeased; that he may listento the pleadings of the Mother, that the sun may shine upon us, thatfruitfulness may fill the land and peace be within its gates. "

Thus he cried while Leonard felt his blood turn cold and his hair riseupon his head, for though he could not understand the words, he guessedtheir purport and his instinct told him that a great danger threatenedthem. He looked at the two priests who stood by, and they glaredhungrily on him in answer. Then his courage came back to him; at leasthe had his rifle and would fight for his life. It must go hard if hecould not put a bullet through one or both of them before they got ahold of him. 

Meanwhile the priests below had seized the king Olfan, whose giant formthey were dragging towards the stone of sacrifice. But of a sudden, forthe first time Juanna spoke, and a deep silence fell upon the temple andall within it. 

"Hearken, People of the Mist, " she said; and her voice falling from thatgreat height seemed small and far away, although so clear that everyword was audible in the stillness of the night. 

"Hear me, People of the Mist, and ye, priests of the Snake. Aca is comeagain and Jal is come again, and ye have given them back their ruleafter many generations, and in their hands lies the life of every one ofyou. As the old tradition told of them so they are, the Mother and theChild, and the one is clothed with beauty, the symbol of life and of thefruitful earth; and the other is black and hideous, the symbol of deathand the evil that walks upon the earth. And ye would do sacrifice to Jalthat he may be appeased according to the ancient law, and listen to thepleading of the Mother that fruitfulness may fill the land. Not so shallJal be appeased, and not because of the sacrifice of men shall Aca pleadwith him that prosperity may reign in the land. 

"Behold, the old law is done away, and we give you a new law. Now is thehour of reconciliation, now Life and Death walk hand in hand, and thehearts of Aca and Jal have grown gentle through the ages, and theyno longer crave the blood of men as an offering to their majesty. Henceforth ye shall bring them fruits and flowers, and not the lives ofmen. See, in my hand I hold winter lilies, red and white, blood-redthey are and white as snow. Now the red flower, token of sacrifice andslaughter, I crush and cast away, but the white bloom of love and peaceI set upon my breast. It is done, gone is the old law; see, it fallsinto the place of the Snake, its home; but the new law blossoms abovemy heart and in it. Shall it not be so, my children, People of the Mist?Will ye not accept my mercy and my love?"

The multitude watched the red bloom as, bruised and broken, through thelight and through the shadow, they fell slowly to the seething surfaceof the pool; then it looked up like one man and saw the white lily setupon Juanna's whiter breast. They saw, and, moved by a common impulse, they rose with a sound like the rush of the wind and shouted:

"Gone is the day of blood and sacrifice, come is the day of peace! Wethank you, Mother, and we take your mercy and your love. "

Then they were silent, and again there was a sound like that of thewind, as all their thousands sank back to the seats of stone. 

Now Nam spoke again in a voice of fury that rang through the still airlike a clarion. 

"What is this that my ears hear?" he cried. "Are ye mad, O ye Dwellersin the Mist? Or does the Mother speak with a charmed voice? Shall theancient worship be changed in an hour? Nay, not the gods themselves canalter their own worship. Slay on, ye priests, slay on, or ye yourselvesshall die the dreadful death. "

The priests below heard, and seizing the struggling king they cast himwith difficulty down upon the stone. 

"Leonard, Leonard, " cried Juanna in English, addressing him for thefirst time by his Christian name, as even then he noticed, but lookingstraight before her that none might guess to whom she spoke. "Thesepriests are going to kill you and all of us, except Otter and myself. Ifyou can, when you see me point with my hand, shoot that man who is aboutto sacrifice the king. Make no answer. "

Leonard heard and understood all. Resting his back firmly against thethumb of the statue, he shifted his position a little so that the groupbelow him came within his line of sight, and waited, watching Juanna, who now was speaking again in the language of the People of the Mist. 

"This I promise you, ministers of blood, " she said, "if ye obey me notye shall indeed die the dreadful death, the death unknown. Hearken, myservant, who are named Deliverer, " and she looked down upon Leonard, "and do my bidding. If one of these shall dare to lift his hand againstyonder man, slay him swiftly as you know how. "

"Smite on, " screamed Nam, "smite on and fear not. "

Most of the priests drew back affrighted; but one ruffian lifted hisknife, and at that moment Juanna pointed with her hand. Then Leonard, stepping forward, covered the priest's great breast with his rifle assurely as the uncertain light would allow. Unconscious of his danger, the executioner muttered an invocation. Now the knife was about to fallupon the throat of Olfan, when fire and smoke sprang out far above him, the rifle rang, and, shot through the heart, the priest leaped high intothe air and fell dead. Terror seized the witnesses of this unaccustomedand, to them, most awful sight. 

"The gods speak with flame and thunder, " one cried, "and death is in theflame. "

"Silence, dogs!" screamed Nam, "ye are bewitched. Ho! you that stand onhigh, cast down the wizard who is named Deliverer, and let us see whowill deliver him from death upon the stone. "

Then one of the guards who stood by him made a movement to grasp Leonardand throw him down, but the other was terrified and could not stir. Thefirst man stretched out his arm, but before it so much as touched itsaim he himself was dead, for, seeing his purpose, Leonard had lifted therifle, and once more its report rang through the temple. Suddenly thepriest threw his arms wide, then fell backwards, and with a mighty rushdived into sheer space to crash lifeless on the stone floor below, wherehe lay, his head and hands hanging over the edge of the pool. 

Now for the first time Otter's emotions overcame him. He stood up on theknees of the dwarf, and shaking the sceptre in his hand, he pointedwith it to the dead men on the paving below, at the same time crying instentorian tones:

"Well done, Baas, well done! Now tumble the old one yonder off hisperch, for I weary of his howlings. "

This speech of Otter's produced even a greater effect on the spectators, if that were possible, than the mysterious death of the priests. Thathe whose name was Silence should cry aloud in a strange tongue, ofwhich they understood no single word, was a dread and ominous thingthat showed his anger to be deep. But Leonard took no heed, he was tooengaged in covering the second guard with the barrel of his repeater. This man, however, had no liking for such a dreadful death. Swiftly heflung himself on to his knees, imploring Leonard to spare him in humbleaccents, and with gestures that spoke more plainly than his words. 

Taking advantage of the pause, again Juanna cried aloud: "Ye see, Peopleof the Mist, I make no idle threats. Where are they now, the disobedientones? The tongue of flame has licked them and they are dead, and as theyhave perished, so shall all perish who dare to gainsay my word, or theword of Jal. Ye know us for gods and ye have crowned us kings, and godsand kings we are indeed. Yet fear not, for on the rebellious only shallour anger fall. Answer you, Nam. Will you do our bidding? Or will youdie also as your servants died?"

Nam glanced round desperately. He looked down on the multitude and foundno help there. Long had they cowered beneath him; now hope was born intheir breasts, and in the presence of a power greater than his, ifonly for a little while, they broke his yoke and the yoke of their redsuperstitions. He looked at the company of priests; their heart wasout of them, they were huddled together like knots of frightened sheep, staring at the corpses of their two companions. Then he bethought himof Otter. Surely there was refuge in the god of blood and evil; and hecried to him:

"The Mother has spoken, but the Mother is not the child. Say, O Jal, what is your command?"

Otter made no answer, because he did not understand; but Juanna repliedswiftly:

"I am the mouth of Jal, as Jal is my hand. When I speak I speak thewords of Jal. Do his bidding and mine, or die, you disobedient servant. "

This was the end of it. Nam was beaten; for the first time in his lifehe must own a master, and that master the gods whom he had himselfdiscovered and proclaimed. 

"So be it, " he said suddenly. "The old order passes, and the new ordercomes. So be it! Let your will be done, O Aca and O Jal. I have strivenfor your glory, I have fed your altars, and ye threaten me with deathand put away my gift. Priests, set free that man who was king. People, have your way, forget your ancient paths, pluck the white flower ofpeace--and perish! I have said. "

So he spoke from on high, shaking his clenched fists above his hoaryhead, and was gone. Then the executioners unbound the limbs of theex-king, and he rose from the stone of death. 

"Olfan, " cried Juanna from on high, "you that were the king, we, whohave taken your kingship, give you life, and liberty, and honour; seethat in reward you serve us well, lest again you should lie upon thatbed of stone. Do you swear fealty to us?"

"For ever and for ever. I swear it by your holy heads, " answered Olfan. 

"It is well. Now under us once more we give you command of the armies ofthis people, our children. Summon your captains and your soldiers. Bidthose that brought us hither lead us back whence we came, and there setguards about us, so that none trouble us. For you, our people, for thistime fare you well. Go in peace to dwell in peace beneath the shadow ofour strength. "

CHAPTER XXIV

OLFAN TELLS OF THE RUBIES

It was at this juncture that Francisco recovered his senses. "Oh!" hegasped, opening his eyes and sitting up, "is it done, and am I dead?"

"No, no, you are alive and safe, " answered Leonard. "Stay where you areand don't look over the edge, or you will faint again. Here, take myhand. Now, you brute, " and he made energetic motions to the survivingpriest, indicating that he must lead them back along the path by whichthey had come, at the same time tapping his rifle significantly. 

The man understood and started down the darksome tunnel as though hewere glad to go, Leonard holding his robe with one hand, while with theother he pressed the muzzle of the loaded rifle against the back of hisneck. Francisco followed, leaning on Leonard's shoulder, for he couldnot walk alone. 

As they had come so they returned. They passed down the steps of stonewhich were hollowed in the body of the colossus; they traversed the longunderground tunnel, and at length, to their intense relief, once morethey stood upon the solid ground and in the open air. Now that the moonwas up, and the mist which had darkened the night had melted, they couldsee their whereabouts. They had emerged upon a platform of rock withina bowshot of the great gates of the palace, from whence the secretsubterranean passage used by the priests was gained, its opening beinghidden cunningly among the stone-work of the temple. 

"I wonder where the others are, " asked Leonard anxiously of Francisco. 

As he spoke, Juanna, wrapped in her dark cloak, appeared, apparentlyout of the stones of the wall, and with her Otter, the Settlement menbearing their dead companion, and a considerable company of priests, among whom, however, Nam was not to be seen. 

"Oh, is that you, Leonard?" said Juanna in English, and in a voicebroken with fear. "Thank Heaven that you are safe!"

"Thank Heaven that we are all safe, " he answered. "Come, let us get on. No, we can walk, thank you, " and he waved away the priests, who producedthe litters from where they had hidden them under the wall. 

The men fell back and they walked on. At the gate of the palace awelcome sight met their eyes, for here stood Olfan, and with him atleast a hundred captains and soldiers, who lifted their spears in saluteas they advanced. 

"Olfan, hear our bidding, " said Juanna. "Suffer no priest of the Snaketo enter the palace gates. We give you command over them, even to death. Set guards at every doorway and come with us. "

The ex-king bowed and issued some orders, in obedience to which thesullen priests fell back murmuring. Then they all passed the gates, crossed the courtyard, and presently stood in the torch-lit throne-room, where Juanna had slept on the previous night. Here food had beenprepared for them by Soa, who looked at them curiously, especially atLeonard and Francisco, as though, indeed, she had never expected to seethem again. 

"Hearken, Olfan, " said Juanna, "we have saved your life to-night and youhave sworn fealty to us; is it not so?"

"It is so, Queen, " the warrior answered. "And I will be faithful tomy oath. This heart, that but for you had now been cold, beats for youalone. The life you gave back to me is yours, and for you I live anddie. "

As he spoke he glanced at her with an expression in which, as itseemed to Juanna, human feeling was mixed with supernatural awe. Was itpossible, she wondered with a thrill of fear, that this savage king wasmingling his worship of the goddess with admiration of the woman? Anddid he begin to suspect that she was no goddess after all? Time wouldshow, but at least the look in his eyes alarmed her. 

"Fear not, " he went on; "a thousand men shall guard you night and day. The power of Nam is broken for a while, and now all this company maysleep in peace. "

"It is well, Olfan. To-morrow morning, after we have eaten, we will talkwith you again, for we have much to say. Till then, watch!"

The great man bowed and went, and at last they were alone. 

"Let us eat, " said Leonard. "What is this? Spirit, or a very goodimitation of it. Well, I never wanted a glass of brandy more in mylife. "

When they had finished their meal, at the request of Leonard Juannatranslated all that had been said in the temple, and among her listenersthere was none more interested than Soa. 

"Say, Soa, " said Leonard, when she had finished, "you did not expect tosee us come back alive, did you? Is that why you stayed away?"

"No, Deliverer, " she answered. "I thought that you would be killed, every one of you. And so it must have come about, had it not been forthe Shepherdess. Also, I stayed away because those who have looked uponthe Snake once do not desire to see him again. Many years ago I wasbride to the Snake, Deliverer, and, had I not fled, my fate would havebeen the fate of her who died this night. "

"Well, I do not wonder that you chose to go, " said Leonard. 

"Oh, Baas, " broke in Otter, "why did you not shoot that old medicine-manas I told you? It would have been easy when you were about it, Baas, andnow he would have been broken like an eggshell thrown from a house-top, and not alive and full of the meat of malice. He is mad with rage andwickedness, and I say that he will kill us all if he can. "

"I rather wish I had, " said Leonard, pulling his beard. "I thought ofit, but could not do everything; and on future occasions, Otter, willyou remember that your name is Silence? Luckily, these people do notunderstand you: if they did you would ruin us all. What is the matter, Soa?"

"Nothing, Deliverer, " she answered; "only I was thinking that Nam is myfather, and I am glad that you did not shoot him, as this black dog, whois named a god, suggests. "

"Of gods I know nothing, you old cow, " answered Otter angrily; "theyare a far-off people, though it seems that I am one of them, at any rateamong these fools, your kinsmen. But of dogs I can tell you something, and it is that they bite. "

"Yes, and cows toss dogs, " said Soa, showing her teeth. 

"Here is another complication, " thought Leonard to himself; "one daythis woman will make friends with her venerable parent and betray us, and then where shall we be? Well, among so many dangers an extra onedoes not matter. "

"I must go to bed, " said Juanna faintly; "my head is swimming. I cannotforget those horrors and that giddy place. When first I saw where I was, I nearly fainted and fell, but after a while I grew more used to it. Indeed, while I was speaking to the people I quite forgot my fear, andthe height seemed to exhilarate me. What a sight it was! When allis said and done, it is a grand thing to have lived through such anexperience. I wonder if anyone has ever seen its like. "

"You are a marvellous woman, Juanna, " said Leonard, with admiration. "Weowe our lives to your wit and courage. "

"You see I was right in insisting on coming with you, " she answeredsomewhat aggressively. 

"For our sakes, yes; for your own I am not so sure. To tell you thetruth, I think that we should have done better never to have started onthis mad expedition. However, things look a little more promising now, though Nam and his company have still to be reckoned with, and we don'tseem much nearer the rubies, which are our main object. "

"No, " said Juanna, "they are gone, and we shall be lucky if we do notfollow them into the home of that hideous snake. Good night. "

"Francisco, " said Leonard, as he rolled himself up in his blanket, "youhad a narrow escape to-night. If I had missed my hold!"

"Yes, Outram, it was lucky for me that your arm is strong and your mindquick. Ah, I am a dreadful coward, and I can see the place now;" and heshuddered. "Always from a child I have believed that I shall die by afall from some height, and to-night I thought that my hour had come. Atfirst I did not understand, for I was watching the Senora's face in themoonlight, and to me she looked like an angel. Then I saw, and my sensesleft me. It was as though hands were stretched up from the blacknessto drag me down--yes, I saw the hands. But you saved me, Outram, thoughthat will not help me, for I shall perish in some such way at last. Sobe it. It is best that I should die, who cannot conquer the evil of myheart. "

"Nonsense, my friend, " said Leonard; "don't talk like that about dying. We can none of us afford to die just at present--that is, unless we areobliged to do so. Your nerves are upset, and no wonder! As for 'the evilof your heart, ' I wish that most men had as little--the world would bebetter. Come, go to sleep; you will feel very differently to-morrow. "

Francisco smiled sadly and shook his head, then he knelt and began tosay his prayers. The last thing that Leonard saw before his eyes closedin sleep was the rapt girlish face of the priest, round which the lightof the taper fell like an aureole, as he knelt muttering prayer afterprayer with his pale lips. 

It was nine o'clock before Leonard awoke next morning--for they had notslept till nearly four--to find Francisco already up, dressed, and, asusual, praying. When Leonard was ready they adjourned to Juanna's room, where breakfast was prepared for them. Here they found Otter, lookingsomewhat disturbed. 

"Baas, Baas, " he said, "they have come and will not go away!"

"Who?" asked Leonard. 

"The woman, Baas: she who was given to me to wife, and many otherwomen--her servants--with her. There are more than twenty of themoutside, Baas, and all of them very big. Now, what shall I do withher, Baas? I came here to serve you and to seek the red stones that youdesire, and not a woman tall enough to be my grandmother. "

"I really don't know and don't care, " answered Leonard. "If you will bea god you must take the consequences. Only beware, Otter: lock up yourtongue, for this woman will teach you to speak her language, and she maybe a spy. "

"Yes, Baas, I will see to that. Is not my name Silence, and shall womenmake me talk--me, who have always hated them? But--the Baas would notlike to marry her himself? I am a god, as you say, though it was you whomade me one, Baas, not I, and my heart is large; I will give her to you, Baas. "

"Certainly not, " answered Leonard decidedly. "See if the breakfast isready. No, I forgot, you are a god, so climb up into the throne and lookthe part, if you can. "

As he spoke, Juanna came from her room, looking a little pale, andthey sat down to breakfast. Before they had finished their meal, Soaannounced that Olfan was waiting without. Juanna ordered him to beadmitted, and presently he entered. 

"Is all well, Olfan?" asked Juanna. 

"All is well, Queen, " he answered. "Nam and three hundred of hisfollowing held council at dawn in the house of the priests yonder. Thereis much stir and talk in the city, but the hearts of the people arelight because their ancient gods have come back to us, bringing peacewith them. "

"Good, " said Juanna. Then she began to question him artfully on manythings, and by degrees they learnt more of the People of the Mist. 

It seemed, as Leonard had already guessed, that they were a very ancientrace, having existed for countless generations on the same misty uplandplains. They were not, however, altogether isolated, for occasionallythey made war with other savage tribes. But they never intermarriedwith these tribes, all the captives taken in their wars being offeredin sacrifice at the religious festivals. The real governing power in thecommunity was the Society of the Priests of the Snake, who held theiroffice by hereditary tenure, outsiders being admitted to their body onlyunder very exceptional circumtances. The council of this society chosethe kings, and when they were weary of one of them, they sacrificed himand chose another, either from among his issue or elsewhere. This beingthe custom, as may be imagined, the relations between church and statewere much strained, but hitherto, as Olfan explained with suppressedrage, the church had been supreme. 

Indeed, the king for the time being was only its mouthpiece, orexecutive officer. He led the armies, but the superstitions of thepeople, and even of the soldiers themselves, prevented him from wieldingany real power; and, unless he chanced to die naturally, his end wasnearly always the same: to be sacrificed when the seasons were bad or"Jal was angry. "

The country was large but sparsely populated, the fighting men numberednot more than four thousand, of whom about half lived in the great city, the rest occupying villages here and there on the mountain slopes. As arule the people were monogamous, except the priests. It was the customof sacrifice which kept down the population to its low level, made thepower of the priests absolute, and their wealth greater than that of allthe other inhabitants of the country put together, for they chose thevictims that had offended against Jal or against the mother-goddess, andconfiscated their possessions to "the service of the temple. " Thus thegreat herds of half-wild cattle which the travellers had seen on theplains belonged to the priests, and the priests took a fourth of theproduce of every man's field and garden--that is, when they did not takeit all, and his life with it. 

Twice in every year great festivals were held in the temple of Jal, at the beginning of the spring season and in the autumn after theingathering of the crops. At each of these festivals many victims wereoffered in sacrifice, some upon the stone and some by being hurled intothe boiling pool beneath the statue, there to be consumed by the Snakeor swept down the secret course of the underground river. The feastcelebrated in the spring was sacred to Jal, and that in the autumn tothe mother-goddess. But there was this difference between them--thatat the spring ceremony female victims only were sacrificed to Jal topropitiate him and to avert his evil influence, while at the autumncelebration males alone were offered up to the mother-goddess ingratitude for her gifts of plenty. Also criminals were occasionallythrown to the Snake that his hunger might be satisfied. The priests hadother rites, Olfan added, and these they would have an opportunity ofwitnessing if the spring festival, which should be celebrated on thesecond day from that date, were held according to custom. 

"It shall not be celebrated, " said Juanna, almost fiercely. 

Then Leonard, who had hitherto listened in silence, asked a questionthrough Juanna. "How is it, " he said, "that Nam and his fellows, beingalready in absolute power, were so willing to accept the gods Jal andAca when they appeared in person, seeing that henceforth they must obey, not rule?"

"For two reasons, lord, " Olfan answered; "first, because the gods aregods, and their servants know them; and secondly, because Nam has oflate stood in danger of losing his authority. Of all the chief prieststhat have been told of, Nam is the most cruel and the most greedy. Forthree years he has doubled the tale of sacrifices, and though the peoplelove these sights of death, they murmur, for none know upon whom theknife shall fall. Therefore he was glad to greet the gods come back, since he thought that they would confirm his power, and set him higherthan he sat before. Now he is astonished because they proclaim peaceand will have none of the sacrifice of men, for Nam does not love suchgentle gods. "

"Yet he shall obey them, " said Otter, speaking for the first time by themouth of Juanna, who all this while was acting as interpreter, "or drinkhis own medicine, for I myself will sacrifice him to myself. "

When Juanna had translated the dwarf's bloodthirsty threat, Olfan bowedhis head meekly and smiled; clearly the prospect of Nam's removal didnot cause him unmixed grief. It was curious to see this stately warriorchief humbling his pride before the misshapen, knob-nosed Kaffir. 

"Say, Olfan, " asked Leonard, "who cut from the rock the great statue onwhich we sat last night, and what is that reptile we saw when the womanwas thrown into the pool of troubled waters?"

"Ask the Water-dweller of the water-dweller, the Snake of the snake, andthe Dwarf of his image, " answered Olfan, nodding towards Otter. "Howcan I, who am but a man, tell of such things, lord? I only know thatthe statue was fashioned in the far past, when we, who are now but aremnant, were a great people; and as for the Snake, he has always livedthere in his holy place. Our grandfather's grandfathers knew him, andsince that day he has not changed. "

"Interesting fact in natural history, " said Leonard; "I wish I could gethim home alive to the Zoological Gardens. "

Then he asked another question. "Tell me, Olfan, what became of the redstones yesterday, and of him who offended in offering them to the godyonder?"

"The most of them were cast into the pit of waters, lord, there to behidden for ever. There were three hide sacks full. "

"Oh, heavens!" groaned Leonard when Juanna had translated this. "Otter, you have something to answer for!"

"But the choicest, " went on Olfan, "were put in a smaller bag, and tiedabout the neck of the man who had sinned. There were not many, but amongthem were the largest stones, that until yesterday shone in the eyesof the idol, stones blue and red together. Also, there was that stone, shaped like a human heart, which hitherto has been worn by the highpriest on the days of sacrifice, and with it the image of the Dwarffashioned from a single gem, and that of the Water-dweller cut from thegreat blue stone, and other smaller ones chosen because of their beautyand also because they have been known for long in the land. For althoughmany of these pebbles are found where the priests dig for them, but feware large and perfect, and the art of shaping them is lost. "

"And what became of the man?" Leonard asked, speaking as quietly as hecould, for his excitement was great. 

"Nay, I do not know, " answered Olfan. "I only know that he was let downwith ropes into the home of the Snake, and that he gained that holyplace, for it was told to me that he dragged rope after him, perhaps ashe fled before the Snake. 

"Now it was promised to the man that when he had laid the bag of stonesin the place of the Snake, for the Snake to guard for ever, his sinswould be purged, and, if it pleased the Water-dweller to spare him, thathe should be drawn up again. Thus Nam swore to him, but he did not keephis oath, for when the man had entered the cave he bade those who heldthe ropes to cast them loose, and I know not what happened to him, butdoubtless he is food for the Snake. None who look upon that holy placemay live to see the sun again. "

"I only hope that the brute did not swallow the rubies as well as theirbearer, " said Leonard to Juanna; "not that there is much chance of ourgetting them, anyway. "

Then Olfan went, nor did he return till the afternoon, when he announcedthat Nam and his two principal priests waited without to speak withthem. Juanna ordered that they should be admitted, and presently theycame in. Their air was humble, and their heads were bowed; but Leonardsaw fury gleaming in their sombre eyes, and was not deceived by thismask of humility. 

"We come, O ye gods, " said Nam, addressing Juanna and Otter, who satside by side on the throne-like chairs: "we come to ask your will, forye have laid down a new law which we do not understand. On the thirdday from now is the feast of Jal, and fifty women are made ready to beoffered to Jal that his wrath may be appeased with their blood, and thathe may number their spirits among his servants, and withhold his angerfrom the People of the Mist, giving them a good season. This has beenthe custom of the land for many a generation, and whenever that customwas broken then the sun has not shone, nor the corn grown, nor have thecattle and the goats multiplied after their kind. But now, O ye gods, yehave proclaimed a new law, and I, who am yet your servant, come hitherto ask your will. How shall the feast go, and what sacrifice shall beoffered unto you?"

"The feast shall go thus, " answered Juanna. "Ye shall offer us asacrifice indeed; to each of us shall ye offer an ox and a goat, andthe ox and the goat shall be given to the Snake to feed him, but not theflesh of men; moreover, the feast shall be held at noon and not in thenight-time. "

"An ox and a goat--to each an ox and a goat!" said Nam humbly, but ina voice of bitterest sarcasm. "As ye will so let it be, O yegentle-hearted gods. And the festival shall be held at noon, and not inthe night season as of old. As ye will, O ye kind gods. Your word is mylaw, O Aca, and O Jal;" and bowing to the ground the aged man withdrewhimself, followed by his satellites. 

"That devilish priest makes my flesh creep, " said Juanna, when she hadtranslated his words. 

"Oh! Baas, Baas, " echoed Otter, "why did you not shoot him while youmight? Now he will surely live to throw us to the Snake. "

As he spoke Soa advanced from behind the thrones where she had takenrefuge when Nam entered. 

"It is not well for a dog who gives himself out as a god to threatenthe life of one whom he has tricked, " said she meaningly. "Perchance thehour shall come when the true god will avenge himself on the false, andby the hand of his faithful servant, whom you would do to death, youbase-born dwarf. " And before anyone could answer she left the chamber, casting a malevolent look at Otter as she went. 

"That servant of yours makes _my_ flesh creep, Juanna, " said Leonard. "One thing is clear enough, we must not allow her to overhear any moreof our plans; she knows a great deal too much already. "

"I cannot understand what has happened to Soa, " said Juanna; "she seemsso changed. "

"You made that remark before, Juanna; but for my part I don't think sheis changed. The sight of her amiable parent has developed her hiddenvirtues, that is all. "

CHAPTER XXV

THE SACRIFICE AFTER THE NEW ORDER

The third day came, the day of sacrifice after the new order. Nothingparticular had happened in the interval: Leonard and Francisco took somewalks through the city, guarded by Peter and the Settlement men; thatwas all. 

They did not see much there, except the exteriors of the houses built ofstone and roofed with turves, and the cold stare of curiosity with whichthey were followed by hundreds of eyes gave them a sense of unrest thateffectually checked their efforts at closer examination. Once indeedthey halted in the market-place, which was thronged; whereon allbusiness ceased, and seller, buyer, herdsmen, and presiding priestsflocked around staring at them, half in fear and half in curiosity, forthey had never seen white men before. This they could not bear, so theyreturned to the palace. 

Of course Otter and Juanna, being divine, were not allowed to indulge insuch recreations. They were gods and must live up to their reputation. For one day Otter endured it; on the second, in spite of Leonard'swarnings, he sought refuge in the society of the bridge Saga. Thiswas the beginning of evil, for if no man is a hero to his _valet dechambre_, much less can he remain a god for long in the eyes of acurious woman. Here, as in other matters, familiarity breeds contempt. 

Leonard saw these dangers and spoke seriously to the dwarf on thesubject. Still he could not conceal from himself that, putting aside thequestion of his _ennui_, which made his conduct natural, at any rate ina savage, Otter's position was a difficult one. So Leonard shruggedhis shoulders and consoled himself as best he could with the reflectionthat, at least, his wife would teach the dwarf something of herlanguage, which, by the way, he himself was practising assiduously underthe tuition of Juanna and Soa. 

At noon the party adjourned to the temple, escorted by a bevy of priestsand soldiers, for in obedience to Juanna's commands the feast was tobe celebrated in the daytime and not at night. As before, the vastamphitheatre was crowded with thousands of human beings, but there was adifference in the arrangements. 

Juanna and Otter had declined to occupy their lofty thrones, and satin chairs at the feet of the huge and hideous stone idol, almost onthe edge of the pool, Nam alone standing before them, while Leonard, Francisco, and the Settlement men ranged themselves on either side. Theday was cold and miserable, and snow fell from time to time in largeflakes from an ashen sky. 

Presently Nam addressed the multitude. 

"People of the Mist, " he cried, "ye are gathered here to celebrate thefeast of Jal, according to ancient custom, but the gods have comeback to you, as ye know, and the gods in their wisdom have changed thecustom. Fifty women were prepared for the sacrifice; this morning theyrose rejoicing, deeming that they were destined to the Snake, but nowtheir joy is turned to sorrow, since the gods will not accept them, having chosen a new offering for themselves. Let it be brought forward. "

At his word lads appeared from behind the idol, driving two lean bulls, and with them a pair of he-goats. 

Whether by accident or design, they drove them so unskilfully that theanimals blundered hither and thither over the rocky platform till theywere finally despatched with blows from clubs and axes--that is, exceptone goat, which, escaping its pursuers, rushed down the amphitheatre andscrambled from seat to seat among the audience, uttering a succession ofterrified "baa's. " Indeed the scene was so comic that even that sombreand silent people began to laugh, accustomed as they were on theseoccasions to the hideous and impressive ceremonial of the midnightsacrifice of so many human beings. 

The ancient feast was a fiasco; this was a fact which could not beconcealed. 

"Begone, ye People of the Mist, " said Nam presently, pointing to thedead animals. "The sacrifice is sacrificed, the festival of Jal isdone. May the Mother plead with the Snake that the sun may shine andfruitfulness bless the land!"

Now scarcely ten minutes had elapsed since the beginning of theceremony, which in the ordinary course of events lasted through thegreater part of the night, for it was the custom to slaughtereach victim singly and with appropriate solemnities. A murmur ofdisapprobation arose from the far end of the amphitheatre, that swelledgradually to a roar. The people had been thankful to accept Juanna'smessage of peace, but, brutalised as they were by the continual sightof bloodshed, they were not willing to dispense with their carnivalsof human sacrifice. A Roman audience gathered to witness a gladiatorialshow, to find themselves treated instead to a donkey-race and acock-fight, could scarcely have shown more fury. 

"Bring out the women! Let the victims be offered up to Jal as of old, "the multitude yelled in their rage, and ten minutes or more elapsedbefore they could be quieted. 

Then Nam addressed them cunningly. 

"People of the Mist, " he said, "the gods have given us a new law, a lawof the sacrifice of oxen and goats in the place of men and maids, and yeyourselves have welcomed that law. No longer shall the blood of victimsflow to Jal beneath the white rays of the moon while the chant of hisservants goes up to heaven. Nay, henceforth this holy place must be ashambles for the kine. So be it, my children; in my old age I hear thegods speaking in an altered voice and I obey them. It is nothing tome who am about to die, yet I tell you that rather would I myself bestretched upon the ancient stone than see the worship of our forefathersthus turned into a mockery. The sacrifice is sacrificed: now may theMaid intercede with the Snake that plenty may bless the land. " And hesmiled satirically and turned away. 

Those of the audience who were near enough to hear his words cried themout to the ranks behind them, and when all understood there followed ascene of most indescribable tumult. 

"Blood, give us blood!" roared the populace, their fierce faces alightwith rage. "Shall we be mocked with the sacrifice of goats? Offer up theservants of the false gods. Give us blood! Lead forth the victims!"

In the midst of this uproar Juanna, clad in her white robes and with thered stone bound upon her brow, rose from her seat to speak. 

"Silence!" cried Nam, "hear the voice of Aca;" and by degrees theshouting died away, and she spoke. 

"Do ye dare thus to offer outrages to the gods?" she cried. "Be warnedlest we bring death and famine upon you all. Men shall be offered up tous no more. I have spoken. "

For a while there was silence, then the clamour broke out with redoubledviolence, and a portion of the multitude made a rush round the edge ofthe pool towards the rock platform, which was repelled by the soldiersin a very half-hearted way. 

"Now, " said Olfan, "I think that these will do well to be going, " andhe pointed to Leonard, Francisco, and the Settlement men. "Doubtless thegods can defend themselves, but if the others do not fly this is sure, that presently they will be torn to pieces. "

"Let us all go, " said Juanna, whose nerve began to fail her; and suitingthe action to the word she led the way towards the rock tunnel, followedby the others. 

They were not allowed to reach it unmolested, however, for a number ofthe crowd, headed, as Leonard noticed, by two priests, forced their waythrough the cordon of guards and became mixed with the rear of theirlittle party, the members of which they threatened and struck atsavagely. This happened just as they were entering the mouth of thetunnel, behind the statue where the gloom was great. 

This tunnel was protected by a door, which, so soon as they thought thatall had passed, Olfan and Leonard made haste to close, leaving the mobhowling without. Then they pressed on to the palace, which they reachedin safety, Olfan remaining behind, however, to watch the movements ofthe mob. 

"Oh! why would not you suffer them to sacrifice according to theirwicked custom, Shepherdess?" said Otter. "What does it matter if theykill each other? So shall there be fewer of them. Now the end of it mustbe that the devils will find us out and murder us. "

"No, no, " said Francisco, "the senora was right. Let us trust inProvidence and keep ourselves clean from such iniquity. "

As he spoke the roars of wrath in the distance changed to a shout oftriumph followed by silence. 

"What is that?" said Juanna faintly. At this moment Olfan pushed thecurtains aside and entered, and his face was heavy. 

"Speak, Olfan, " she said. 

"The people sacrifice as of old, Queen, " he answered. "All of us did notpass the gate; two of your black servants were mixed up with the crowdand left, and now they offer them to Jal, and others with them. "

Leonard ran to the yard and counted the Settlement men, who were huddledtogether in their fear, staring towards the temple through the bars ofthe gate. Two were missing. 

As he returned he met Olfan coming out. 

"Where is he going?" he asked of Juanna. 

"To guard the gates. He says that he cannot be sure of the soldiers. Isit true about the Settlement men?"

"Alas! yes. Two are gone. "

She hid her face in her hands and shuddered. 

"Poor creatures!" she said presently in a hoarse voice. "Why did weever bring them here? Oh! Leonard, is there no escape from this land ofdemons?"

"I hope so, " he answered; then added, "Come, Juanna, do not give way. Things look so bad that they are sure to mend. "

"There is need of it, " she sobbed. 

All that evening and night they watched, hourly expecting to be attackedand dragged forth to sacrifice, but no attack was made. Indeed, onthe morrow they learnt from Olfan that the people had dispersed aftersacrificing about a score of human beings, and that quiet reigned in thecity. 

Now began the most dreadful of their trials, and the longest, for itendured five whole weeks. As has been said, the climate of thesevast upland plains, backed by snow-clad mountains, that are thedwelling-place of the People of the Mist, is cold during the wintermonths to the verge of severity. But at a certain period of a year, almost invariably within a day or two of the celebration of the feastof Jal, the mists and frost vanish and warm weather sets in with brightsunshine. 

This is the season of the sowing of crops, and upon the climaticconditions of the few following weeks depends the yield of the harvest. Should the spring be delayed even a week or two, a short crop wouldcertainly result, but if its arrival is postponed for a month, it meanssomething like a famine during the following winter. For although thispeople dwell on high lands they cultivate the same sorts of grain whichare common in these latitudes, namely maize and sundry varieties ofKaffir corn, having no knowledge of wheat and the other hardy cereals. Therefore, it is all important to them that the corn should have a fairstart, for if the autumn frosts catch it before it is fit to harvest thegreat proportion of the crop turns black and is rendered useless. 

These agricultural details had no small bearing upon the fate of ouradventurers. The feast of Jal was celebrated in order to secure agood seed-bed and springing time for the grain. Juanna and Otter hadabolished the hideous ceremonies of that feast, and the People of theMist watched for the results with a gloomy and superstitious eye. If theseason proved more than ordinarily good, all might go well, but if itchanced to be bad----!

And, as was to be expected, seeing how much depended upon it, thisspring proved the very worst which any living man could remember in thatcountry. Day after day the face of the sun was hidden with mists thatonly yielded to the bitter winds which blew from the mountains at night, so that when the spring should have been a month old, the temperaturewas still that of mid-winter and the corn would not start at all. 

Leonard and Juanna soon discovered what this meant for them, and neverwas the aspect of weather more anxiously scanned than by these two fromday to day. In vain; every morning the blanket of cold mist fell like acloud, blotting out the background of the mountains, and every night thebiting wind swept down upon them from the fields of snow, chilling themto the marrow. 

This state of things--wretched enough it itself--was only one of manymiseries which afflicted them. Otter and Juanna were still treatedas gods indeed, and considerable respect was shown to Leonard andFrancisco, that is, within the walls of the palace. But if, wearied withthe monotony of their life, they went out, which they did twice onlyduring these five dreadful weeks, matters were different. Then theyfound themselves followed by a mob of men, women, and children, whoglared at them ferociously and cursed them aloud, asking what they hadtheir gods had done with the sunshine. 

On the second occasion indeed they were forced to fly for their lives, and after this they gave up making the attempt to walk abroad, and satin the palace with Juanna and Otter, who of course never dared to leaveit. 

It was a terrible life; there was nothing to do, nothing to read, andonly anxieties to think on. The greater part of the day Leonard andJuanna occupied in talking, for practice, in the language of the Peopleof the Mist. When their conversation was exhausted they told each othertales of their adventures in past years, or even invented stories likechildren and prisoners; indeed they were prisoners--prisoners, as theyfeared, under sentence of death. 

They grew to know each other very well during those five weeks, so wellindeed that each could almost guess the other's thoughts. But no tenderword ever passed their lips. On this subject, whatever their heartsmight feel, their tongues were sealed, and in their curious perversitythe chief object of each was to disguise the truth from the other. Moreover, Leonard never for one moment forgot that Juanna was his ward, a fact that in itself would have sufficed to cause him to conceal anytender emotions he might have felt towards her. 

So they lived side by side, lovers at heart, yet talking and acting asbrother and sister might, and through it all were still happy after afashion because they were together. 

But Soa was not happy. She felt that her mistress no longer trusted her, and was at no loss to guess the cause. Day by day she stood behind themlike a mummy at an Egyptian feast, and watched Leonard with ever-growingjealousy. 

Francisco for his part did not attempt to conceal his fears. He wascertain that they were about to perish and sought consolation in theconstant practice of religion, which was edifying but scarcely improvedhim as a companion. As for Otter, he also believed that the hour ofdeath was nigh, but being a fatalist this did not trouble him much. Onthe contrary, in spite of Leonard's remonstrances he began to live hard, betaking himself freely to the beer-pot. When Leonard remonstrated withhim he turned somewhat sulky. 

"To-day I am a god, Baas, " he answered, "to-morrow I may be carrion. While I am a god, let me drink and be merry. All my days also womenhave cursed me because I am ugly, but now my wife holds me great andbeautiful. What is the good of thinking and looking sad? The end willcome soon enough. Already Nam sharpens the knife for our hearts. Comeand be merry with me, Baas, if the Shepherdess will let you. "

"Do you take me for a pig like yourself?" said Leonard angrily. "Well, go your own way, foolish that you are, but beware of the beer and thespirits. Now you are beginning to know this language, and when you aredrunk you talk, and do you think that there are no spies here? Thatgirl, Saga, is great-niece to Nam, and you are besotted with her. Becareful lest you bring us all to death. "

"Thither we shall come any way, so let us laugh before we weep, Baas, "Otter replied sullenly. "Must I then sit here and do nothing till Idie?"

Leonard shrugged his shoulders and went. He could not blame the dwarf, who after all was a savage and looked at things as a savage would, notwithstanding Francisco's earnest efforts to convert him. He sometimeswished, so deep was his depression, that he also was a savage and coulddo likewise. 

But the worst of their trials is still to be told. For the first weekthe Settlement men stayed in the palace, their fears and the rumoursthat had reached them of the terrible fate of their two lost companionskeeping them quiet. By degrees, however, this dread wore off, and oneafternoon, wearied with the sameness of their life, they yielded tothe solicitations of some men who spoke to them through the bars ofthe great gate, and went out in a body without obtaining Leonard'spermission. That night they returned drunk--at least ten of themdead; the other two were missing. When they were sober again, Leonardquestioned them as to the whereabouts of their companions, but theycould give him no satisfactory information. They had been into varioushouses in the city, they said, where the people had plied them withbeer, and they remembered nothing more. 

These two men never reappeared, but the rest of them, now thoroughlyfrightened, obeyed Leonard's orders and stayed in the palace, althoughthe decoy men still came frequently to the gates and called them. Theypassed the days in wandering about and drinking to drown their fears, and the nights huddled together for protection from an unseen foe, moreterrible and craftier than the leopard of their native rocks. But theseprecautions were all in vain. 

One morning, hearing a tumult among them, Leonard went to see what wasthe matter. Three more of the Settlement men were missing; they hadvanished in the night, none could say how, vanished though the doorswere barred and guarded. There where they had slept lay their guns andlittle possessions, but the men were gone, leaving no trace. When hewas consulted Olfan looked very grave, but could throw no light upon themystery beyond suggesting that there were many secret passages in thepalace, of which the openings were known only to the priests, and thatpossibly the men had been let down them--terrible information enough forpeople in their position. 

CHAPTER XXVI

THE LAST OF THE SETTLEMENT MEN

On that day of the vanishing of the three Settlement men, Nam paid hisweekly visit to "do honour to the gods, " and Leonard, who by this timecould make himself understood in the tongue of the People of the Mist, attacked him as to the whereabouts of their lost servants. 

When he had finished, the priest answered with a cruel smile thathe knew nothing of the matter. "Doubtless, " he said, "the gods hadinformation as to the fate of their own servants--it was not for him toseek those whom the gods had chosen to put away. "

Then turning the subject, he went on to ask when it would please theMother to intercede with the Snake that he might cause the sun to shineand the corn to spring, for the people murmured, fearing a famine in theland. 

Of course Juanna was able to give no satisfactory answer to the priest'squestions, and after this the quarters of the Settlement men werechanged, and for a few days the survivors slept in safety. On the thirdnight, however, two more of them were taken in the same mysteriousmanner, and one of those who remained swore that, hearing somethingstir, he woke and saw the floor open and a vision of great arms dragginghis sleeping companions through the hole in it, which closed againinstantly. Leonard hurried to the spot and made a thorough examinationof the stone blocks of the pavement, but could find no crack in them. And yet, if the man had dreamed, how was the mystery to be explained?

After this, with the exception of Otter, who, sure of the fate thatawaited them, took little heed of how or when it might fall, none ofthe party could even sleep because of their terror of the unseen foe whostruck in silence and in darkness, dragging the victim to some unknownawful end. Leonard and Francisco took it in turns to watch each other'sslumbers, laying themselves to rest outside the curtain of Juanna'sroom. As for the survivors of the Settlement men, their state canscarcely be described. They followed Leonard about, upbraiding himbitterly for leading them into this evil land and cursing the hour whenfirst they had seen his face. It would have been better, they said, that he should have left them to their fate in the slave camp than havebrought them here to die thus; the Yellow Devil was at least a man, butthese people were sorcerers and lost spirits in human shape. 

Nor did the horror stop here, for at last the headman Peter, a man whomthey all liked and respected, went mad with fear and ran to and fro inthe palace yard while the guards and women watched him with curious eyesas he shrieked out curses upon Juanna and Leonard. This shocking scenecontinued for some hours, for his companions would not interfere withhim, vowing that he was possessed by a spirit, till at length he put aperiod to it by suddenly committing suicide. In vain did Leonard cautionthe survivors to keep their heads and watch at night. They flew to thebeer which was supplied to them in plenty, and drank till they wereinsensible. And still one by one they vanished mysteriously, till atlength all were gone. 

Never might Leonard forget his feelings when one day at dawn, in thefifth week of their incarceration, he hurried as usual to the chamberwhere the last two of the unfortunate men were accustomed to sleep, andfound them not. There were their blankets, there was the place wherethey had been, and on it, laid carefully in the form of a St. Andrew'scross by some unknown hand, shone two huge sacrificial knives such asthe priests wore at their girdles. 

Sick and faint with fear he staggered back to the throne-room. 

"Oh! what is it now?" said Juanna, who, early as it was, had risenalready, looking at him with terrified eyes and trembling lips. 

"Only this, " he answered hoarsely; "the last two have been taken, andhere is what was left in the place of them, " and he cast down the kniveson to the pavement. 

Then at last Juanna gave way. "Oh! Leonard, Leonard, " she said, weepingbitterly, "they were my father's servants whom I have known since I wasa child, and I have brought them to this cruel end. Cannot you think ofany way of getting out of this place? If not, I shall die of fear. I cansleep no more. I feel that I am watched at night, though I cannot tellby whom. Last night I thought that I heard some one moving near thecurtain where you and Francisco lie, though Soa declares that it isfancy. "

"It is impossible, " said Leonard; "Francisco was on guard. Ah! here hecomes. "

As he spoke Francisco entered the room with consternation written on hisface. 

"Outram, " he gasped, "some one must have been in the throne chamberwhere we slept last night. All the rifles have gone, ours and those ofthe Settlement men also. "

"Great heavens!" said Leonard, "but you were watching. "

"I suppose that I must have dozed for a few moments, " answered thepriest; "it is awful, awful; they are gone and we are weaponless. "

"Oh! can we not escape?" moaned Juanna. 

"There is no hope of it, " answered Leonard gloomily. "We are friendlesshere except for Olfan, and he has little real power, for the priestshave tampered with the captains and the soldiers who fear them. Howcan we get out of this city? And if we got out what would become of us, unarmed and alone? All that we can do is to keep heart and hope for thebest. Certainly they are right who declare that no good comes of seekingafter treasure; though I believe that we shall live to win it yet, " headded. 

"What! Deliverer, " said a satirical voice behind him, "do you stilldesire the red stones, who whose heart's blood shall soon redden acertain stone yonder? Truly the greed of the white man is great. "

Leonard looked round. It was Soa who spoke, Soa who had been listeningto their talk, and she was glaring at him with an expression of intensehate in her sullen eyes. A thought came into his mind. "Was it notpossible that this woman had something to do with their misfortunes? Howcame it about that the others were taken while she was left?"

"Who gave you leave, Soa, " he said, looking her fixedly in the face, "tohearken to our words and thrust yourself into our talk?"

"You have been glad enough of my counsels hitherto, White Man, " sheanswered furiously. "Who told you the tale of this people? And who ledyou to their land? Was it I or another?"

"You, I regret to say, " said Leonard coolly. 

"Yes, White Man, I led you here that you might steal the treasure of mypeople like a thief. I did it because the Shepherdess my mistress forcedme to the deed, and in those days her will was my law. For her and youI came here to my death, and what has been my reward? I am put away fromher, she has no kind word for me now; you are about her always, you holdher counsel, but to me her mind is as a shut door that I can no longeropen. Ay! you have poisoned her against me, you and that black swinewhom they call a god. 

"Moreover, because she has learned to love you, white thief, wandererwithout a kraal as you are, at your bidding she has also learned to hateme. Beware, White Man, I am of this people, and you know their temper, it is not gentle; when they hate they find a means to be revenged, " andshe ceased, gasping with rage. 

Indeed, at that moment Soa would have made no bad model for a statue ofone of the furies of Greek mythology. 

Then Juanna attempted to interfere, but Leonard waved her back. 

"So, " he said, "as I thought, you are at the bottom of all thisbusiness. Perhaps you will not mind telling us what has become of yourfriends, the Settlement men, or, if you feel a delicacy on that point, how it is that you have escaped while they have vanished. "

"I know nothing of the Settlement men, " answered the Fury, "except thatthey have been taken and sacrificed as was their meed, and as yet I havelifted no hand and said no word against you, though a breath from mewould have swept you all to doom. Hitherto I have been spared for thesame reason that you and Bald-pate yonder have been spared--because weare the body-servants of the false gods, and are reserved to perish withthem when the lie is discovered; or perhaps to live awhile, set in cagesin the market-place, to be mocked by the passers-by and to serve as awarning to any whose monkey hearts should dare to plot sacrilege againstthe divinity of Aca and Jal. 

"Now, Shepherdess, take your choice. As you know well, I have lovedyou from a babe and I love you yet, though you have scorned me for thisman's sake. Take your choice, I say; cling to me and trust me, givingthe Deliverer to the priests, and I will save you. Cling to him, andI will bring shame and death upon you all, for my love shall turn tohate. "

At this juncture Leonard quietly drew his revolver, though at the timenobody noticed it except Francisco. Indeed by now Juanna was almost asangry as Soa herself. 

"How dare you speak to me thus?" she said, stamping her foot, "you whomfrom a child I have thought good and have trusted. What do you say? ThatI must give him who saved me from death over to death, in order that Imay buy back your love and protect myself. You evil woman, I tell youthat first I will die as I would have died yonder in the slave camp, "and she ceased, for her indignation was too great to allow her to saymore. 

"So be it, Shepherdess, " said Soa solemnly, "I hear you. It was to beexpected that you would prefer him whom you love to her who loves you. Yet, Shepherdess, was it not I after all who saved you yonder in theslave camp? Doubtless I dream, but it seems to me that when those menwho are dead deserted you, running this way and that in their fear--and, Shepherdess, it is for this that I am glad they are dead, and liftedno hand to save them--I followed you alone. It seems to me that, havingfollowed you far till I could walk no more for hunger and weariness, Iused my wit and bribed a certain white man, of the sort who would selltheir sisters and blaspheme their mothers for a reward, to attempt yourrescue. 

"I bribed him with a gem of great price--had there been ten of them, that gem would have bought them all--and with the gem I told him thesecret of the treasure which is here. He took the bribe, and being braveand desperate, he drew you out of the clutches of the Yellow Devil, though in that matter also I had some part; and then you loved him. Ah! could I have foreseen it, Shepherdess, I had left you to die in theslave camp, for then you had died loving me who now hate me and cast meoff for the sake of this white thief. "

Leonard could bear it no longer, and in the interests of their commonsafety he came to a desperate resolve. With an exclamation, he liftedthe pistol and covered Soa. Both Francisco and Juanna saw the act andsprang to him, the latter exclaiming, "Oh! what are you going to do?"

"I propose to kill this woman before she kills us, that is all, " heanswered coldly. 

"No! no!" cried Juanna, "she has been faithful to me for many years. Icannot see her shot. "

"Let the butcher do his work, " mocked Soa; "it shall avail him little. Doubtless he is angry because I have spoken the truth about him, " andshe folded her arms upon her breast, awaiting the bullet. 

"What is to be done?" said Leonard desperately. "If I do not shoot her, she will certainly betray us. "

"Then let her betray, " said Francisco; "it is written that you shall dono murder. "

"If you fear to shoot a woman, send for your black dog, White Man, "mocked Soa. "He would have killed my father, and doubtless this taskalso will be to his liking. "

"I can't do it. Get a rope and tie her up, Francisco, " said Leonard. "We must watch her day and night; it will be a pleasant addition toour occupations. After all it is only one more risk, which is no greatmatter among so many. I fancy the game is about played out, anyhow. "

Francisco went for the rope and presently returned accompanied by Otter. A month of furious dissipation had left its mark even on the dwarf'siron frame. His bright black eyes were bloodshot and unsteady, his handshook, and he did not walk altogether straight. 

"You have been drinking again, you sot, " said Leonard. "Go back to yourdrink; we are in sorrow here and want no drunkards in our company. Nowthen, Francisco, give me that rope. "

"Yes, Baas, I have been drinking, " answered the dwarf humbly; "it iswell to drink before one dies, since we may not drink afterwards and Ithink that the hour of death is at hand. Oh! Shepherdess of theheavens, they said down yonder at the Settlement that you were a greatrain-maker: now if you can make the rain to fall, can you not make thesun to shine? Wind and water are all very well, but we have too much ofthem here. "

"Hearken, " said Leonard, "while you revelled, the last of Mavoom's menvanished, and these are left in their place, " and he pointed to theknives. 

"Is it so, Baas?" answered Otter with a hiccough. "Well, they were apoor lot, and we shall not miss them. And yet I wish I were a man againand had my hands on the throat of that wizard Nam. _Wow!_ but I wouldsqueeze it. "

"It is your throat that will be squeezed soon, Otter, " said Leonard. "Look here, god or no god, get you sober or I will beat you. "

"I am sober, Baas, I am indeed. Last night I was drunk, to-day nothingis left but a pain here, " and he tapped his great head. "Why are youtying up that old cow Soa, Baas?"

"Because she threatens to use her horns, Otter. She says that she willbetray us all. "

"Indeed, Baas! Well, it is in my mind that she has betrayed us already. Why do you not kill her and have done?"

"Because the Shepherdess here will have none of it, " answered Leonard;"also I do not like the task. "

"I will kill her if you wish, Baas, " said Otter with another hiccough. "She is wicked, let her die. "

"I have told you that the Shepherdess will have none of it. Listen: wemust watch this woman; we will guard her to-day and you must take yourturn to-night--it will keep you from your drink. "

"Yes, Baas, I will watch, though it would be better to kill her at once, for thus we should be spared trouble. "

Then they bound Soa securely and set her in a corner of the thronechamber, and all that day Leonard and Francisco mounted guard over heralternately. She made no resistance and said nothing; indeed it seemedas if a certain lassitude had followed her outbreak of rage, for sheleaned her head back and slept, or made pretence to sleep. 

The day passed uneventfully. Olfan visited them as usual, and toldthem that the excitement grew in the city. Indeed the unprecedentedprolongation of the cold weather was driving the people into a state ofsuperstitious fury that must soon express itself in violence of oneform or another, and the priests were doing everything in their power tofoment the trouble. No immediate danger was to be apprehended, however. 

After sundown Leonard and Francisco went out into the courtyard toinspect the weather according to their custom. There was no sign of achange; the wind blew as bitterly as ever from the mountains, the skywas ashen, and the stars seemed far off and cold. 

"Will it never break?" said Leonard with a sigh, and re-entered thepalace, followed by Francisco. 

Then, having solemnly cautioned Otter to keep a strict guard over Soa, they wrapped themselves up in their blankets in order to get some rest, which both of them needed sadly. Juanna had retired already, layingherself to sleep immediately on the other side of the curtain, forshe feared to be alone; indeed they could see the tips of her fingersappearing beneath the bottom of the curtain. 

Very soon they were asleep, for even terror must yield at last to thenecessities of rest, and a dense silence reigned over the palace, brokenonly by the tramp of the sentries without. 

Once Leonard opened his eyes, hearing something move, and instantlystretched out his hand to assure himself of Juanna's safety. She wasthere, for in her sleep her fingers closed instinctively upon his own. Then he turned round and saw what had disturbed him. In the doorway ofthe chamber stood the bride of the Snake, Saga, a lighted torch in onehand and a gourd in the other, and very picturesque that handsomeyoung woman looked with her noble figure illumined by the glare of thetorchlight. 

"What is the matter?" said Leonard. 

"It is all right, Baas, " answered Otter; "the old woman here is as safeas a stone statue yonder and quite as quiet. Saga brings me some water, that is all. I bade her do so because of the fire that rages inside meand the pain in my head. Fear not, Baas, I do not drink beer when I amon guard. "

"Beer or water, I wish you would keep your wife at a distance, " answeredLeonard; "come, tell her to be off. "

Then he looked at his watch, the hands of which he could justdistinguish by the distant glare of the torch, and went to sleep again. This took place at ten minutes past eleven. When he awoke again dawn wasbreaking and Otter was calling to him in a loud, hoarse voice. 

"Baas, " he said, "come here, Baas. "

Leonard jumped up and ran to him, to find the dwarf on his feet andstaring vacantly at the wall against which Soa had been sitting. She wasgone, but there on the floor lay the ropes with which she had been tied. 

Leonard sprang at Otter and seized him by the shoulders. 

"Wretched man!" he cried, "you have been sleeping, and now she hasescaped and we are lost. "

"Yes, Baas, I have been sleeping. Kill me if you wish, for I deserve it. And yet, Baas, never was I more wide-awake in my life until I drank thatwater. I am not wont to sleep on guard, Baas. "

"Otter, " said Leonard, "that wife of yours has drugged you. "

"It may be so, Baas. At least the woman has gone, and, say, whither hasshe gone?"

"To Nam, her father, " answered Leonard. 

CHAPTER XXVII

FATHER AND DAUGHTER

While Leonard and Otter spoke thus in their amazement, had they butknown it, a still more interesting conversation was being carried onsome three hundred yards away. Its scene was a secret chamber hollowedin the thickness of the temple wall, and the _dramatis personae_consisted of Nam, the high priest, Soa, Juanna's servant, and Saga, wifeof the Snake. 

Nam was an early riser, perhaps because his conscience would not allowhim to sleep, or because on this occasion he had business of importanceto attend to. At any rate, on the morning in question, long beforethe break of dawn, he was seated in his little room alone, musing; andindeed his thoughts gave him much food for reflection. As has been said, he was a very aged man, and whatever may have been his faults, atleast he was earnestly desirous of carrying on the worship of the godsaccording to the strict letter of the customs which had descended to himfrom his forefathers, and which he himself had followed all his life. In truth, from long consideration of them, their attributes, and thetraditions concerning them, Nam had come to believe in the actualexistence of these gods, although the belief was a qualified one andsomewhat half-hearted. Or, to put it less strongly, he had never allowedhis mind to entertain active doubt of the spiritual beings whoseearthly worship was so powerful a factor in his own material rule andprosperity, and in that of his class. In its issues this half-faith ofhis had been sufficiently real to induce him to accept Otter and Juannawhen they arrived mysteriously in the land. 

It had been prophesied that they should arrive thus--that was afact; and their outward appearance exactly fitted every detail of theprophecy--that was another fact; and these two facts together seemed topoint to a conclusion so irresistible that, shrewd and experienced ashe was, Nam, was unable to set it down to mere coincidence. Thereforein the first rush of his religious enthusiasm he had accorded a heartywelcome to the incarnations of the divinities whom for some eighty yearshe had worshipped as powers spiritual. 

But though pious zeal had much to do with this action, as Olfan informedJuanna, it was not devoid of worldly motives. He desired the glory ofbeing the discoverer of the gods, he desired also the consolidation ofthe rule which his cruelties had shaken, that must result from theiradvent. 

All this was well enough, but he had never even dreamed that the firststep of these new-born divinities would be to discard the ancientceremonial without which his office would become a sinecure and hispower a myth, and even to declare an active hostility against himself. 

Were they or were they not gods? This was the question that exercisedhis mind. If there was truth in prophesies they should be gods. On theother hand he could discover nothing particularly divine about theirpersons, characters, or attributes--that is to say, nothing sufficientlydivine to deceive Nam himself, whatever impression they produced uponthe vulgar. Thus Juanna might be no more than a very beautiful womanwhite in colour, and Otter only what he knew him to be through hisspies, a somewhat dissolute dwarf. 

That they had no great power was also evident, seeing that he, Nam, without incurring the heavenly vengeance, had been able to abstract, and afterwards to sacrifice comfortably, the greater number of theirservants. Another thing which pleaded against their celestial originwas that so far, instead of peace and prosperity blessing the land asit should have done immediately on their arrival, the present seasonwas proving itself the worst on record, and the country was face to facewith a prospect of famine in the ensuing winter. 

And yet, if they were not gods, who were they? Would any human beingsin their senses venture among such people as the Children of the Mist, merely to play off a huge practical joke of which the finale was likelyto be so serious to themselves? The idea was preposterous, since theyhad nothing to gain by so doing, for Nam, it may be observed, wasignorant of the value of rubies, which to him were only emblems employedin their symbolical ceremonies. Think as he would, he could come to nodefinite conclusion. One thing was clear, however, that it was now verymuch to his interest to demonstrate their non-celestial origin, thoughto do so would be to stultify himself and to prove that his judgment wasnot infallible. Otherwise, did the "gods" succeed in establishing theirpower, he and his authority seemed likely to come to a sudden end inthe jaws of that monster, which his order had fostered for so manygenerations. 

Thus reflected Nam in perplexity of soul, wishing to himself the whilethat he had retired from his office before he was called upon to facequestions so difficult and so dangerous. 

"I must be patient, " he muttered to himself at last; "time will show thetruth, or, if the weather does not change, the people will settle thematter for me. "

As it chanced he had not long to wait, for just then there was a knockupon his door. 

"Enter, " he said, arranging his goat-skin robe about his broadshoulders. 

A priest came in bearing a torch, for there was no window to thechamber, and after him two women. 

"Who is this?" said Nam, pointing to the second of the women. 

"This is she who is servant to Aca, Father, " answered the priest. 

"How comes she here?" said Nam again. "I gave no orders that she shouldbe taken. "

"She comes of her own free will, Father, having somewhat to say to you. "

"Fool, how can she speak to me when she does not know our tongue? Butof her presently; take her aside and watch her. Now, Saga, your report. First, what of the weather?"

"It is grey and pitiless, father. The mist is dense and no sun can beseen. "

"I thought it, because of the cold, " and he drew his robe closer roundhim. "A few more days of this----" and he stopped, then went on. "Tellme of Jal, your lord. "

"Jal is as Jal was, merry and somewhat drunken. He speaks our languagevery ill, yet when he was last in liquor he sang a song which told ofdeeds that he, and he whom they name the Deliverer, had wrought togetherdown in the south, rescuing the goddess Aca from some who had taken hercaptive. At least, so I understood that song. "

"Perhaps you understood it wrong, " answered Nam. "Say, niece, do youstill worship this god?"

"I worship the god Jal, but the man, Dweller in the Waters, I hate, " shesaid fiercely. 

"Why, how is this? But two days gone you told me that you loved him, andthat there was no such god as this man, and no such man as this god. "

"That was so, father, but since then he has thrust me aside, saying thatI weary him, and courts a handmaid of mine own, and therefore I demandthe life of that handmaiden. "

Nam smiled grimly. "Perchance you demand the life of the god also?"

"Yes, " she replied without hesitation, "I would see him dead if it canbe brought about. "

Again Nam smiled. "Truly, niece, your temper is that of my sister, yourgrandmother, who brought three men to sacrifice because she grew jealousof them. Well, well, these are strange times, and you may live to seeyour desire satisfied by the death of the god. Now, what of that woman?How comes she to be with you?"

"She was bound by the order of Aca, father, and Jal was set to watchher; but I drugged Jal, and loosing her bonds I led her down the secretway, for she desires to speak to you. "

"How can that be, niece? Can I then understand her language?"

"Nay, father, but she understands ours. Had she been bred in the landshe could not speak it better. "

Nam looked astonished, and going to the door he called to the priestwithout to lead in the stranger. 

"You have words to say to me, " he said. 

"Yes, lord, but not before these. That which I have to say is secret. "

Nam hesitated. 

"Have no fear, lord, " said Soa, reading his thoughts. "See, I amunarmed. "

Then he commanded the others to go, and when the door had closed behindthem, he looked at her inquiringly. 

"Tell me, lord, who am I?" asked Soa, throwing the wrapping from herhead and turning her face to the glare of the torchlight. 

"How can I know who you are, wanderer? Yet, had I met you by chance, Ishould have said that you were of our blood. "

"That is so, lord, I am of your blood. Cast your mind back and think ifyou can remember a certain daughter whom you loved many years ago, butwho through the workings of your foes was chosen to be a bride to theSnake, " and she paused. 

"Speak on, " said Nam in a low voice. 

"Perchance you can recall, lord, that, moved to it by love and pity, onthe night of the sacrifice you helped that daughter to escape the fangsof the Snake. "

"I remember something of it, " he replied cautiously; "but tidings werebrought to me that this woman of whom you speak was overtaken by thevengeance of the god, and died on her journey. "

"That is not so, lord. I am your daughter, and you are none other thanmy father. I knew you when I first saw your face, though you did notknow me. "

"Prove it, and beware how you lie, " he said. "Show me the secret sign, and whisper the hidden word into my ear. "

Then, glancing suspiciously behind her, Soa came to him, and madesome movements with her hands in the shadow of the table. Next bendingforward, she whispered awhile into his ear. When she had finished, herfather looked up, and there were tears in his aged eyes. 

"Welcome, daughter, " he said. "I thought that I was alone, and that noneof my issue lived anywhere upon the earth. Welcome! Your life is forfeitto the Snake, but, forgetting my vows, I will protect you, ay, even atthe cost of my own. "

Then the two embraced each other with every sign of tenderness, aspectacle that would have struck anyone acquainted with their charactersas both curious and interesting. 

Presently Nam left the chamber, and having dismissed the attendantpriest and his great-niece, Saga, who were waiting outside, he returnedand prayed his daughter to explain the reason of her presence in thetrain of Aca. 

"First, you shall swear an oath to me, my father, " said Soa, "and if youswear it not, I will tell you no word of my story. You shall swear bythe blood of Aca that you will do nothing against the life of that Queenwith whom I journeyed hither. For the others, you may work your willupon them, but her you shall not harm. "

"Why should I swear this, daughter?" he asked. 

"You shall swear it because I, whom you love, love her, and also becauseso you shall gain the greater honour. "

"Who am I that I should lift my hand against the gods, daughter? I swearit by the blood of Aca, and if I break my oath, then may Jal deal withme as once he dealt with Aca. "

Then Soa went on freely, for she knew that this was a vow that could notbe broken. Beginning at its commencement, she told him all the story ofher life since, forty years ago, she had fled from among the People ofthe Mist, passing on rapidly, however, to that part of it which had todo with the capture and rescue of Juanna from the slave-traders, andwith the promise that she had made to Leonard as the price of hisassistance. This promise, she was careful to explain, she had notintended to fulfil until she was forced to do so by Juanna herself. Then she gave him a minute history of the object and details of theirexpedition, down to her final quarrel with Leonard and her mistress onthe previous day. 

To say that the old priest was thunderstruck at these extraordinaryrevelations would be too little; he was overwhelmed--so overwhelmed thatfor a while he could scarcely speak. 

"It is fortunate for this jade of a mistress of yours, who dares tomake a mockery of our goddess that she may steal her wealth, that I havesworn to save her from harm, daughter, " he gasped at length, "else shehad died, and swiftly. At least, the others remain to me, " and he sprangto his feet. 

"Stay awhile, father, " said Soa, catching his cloak, "what is yourplan?"

"My plan? To drag them to the temple and denounce them. What else isthere to do?"

"And thereby denounce yourself also, who proclaimed them gods. I think Ihave a better. "

"Tell it then, daughter. "

"It is this. Do you pass in before the gods this day, speak humbly tothe gods, praying them to change the face of the heavens that the sunmay shine; telling them also that strange talk has come to your ears bythe mouth of Saga and the other women, of words that have been spokenby the god Jal, which would seem to show that he is no god, but that ofthis you believe nothing as yet. Then say to them that if the face ofthe heavens remains grey on the morrow, you will know that this talk istrue, and that they will be brought to the temple, there to be judgedand dealt with according to the finding of the people, who have heardthese things also. "

"And what if the weather should change, daughter?"

"It will not change yet awhile; but if that should chance, we must makeanother plan. "

"Just now I swore to you that I would not harm her whom you love, andyet, daughter, if she is proved to be a false goddess in the face of allthe multitude, how shall she escape harm, for then her end must be quickand terrible?"

"She shall escape because she will not be there, father. You have seenthe white man with her--not the Deliverer, the other. Were that mandressed in the robes of Aca, and sat on high upon the head of the statuewhen the light is low, who should say that he was not Aca?"

"Then you would give all the others to death, daughter?"

"Nay, I would save the Deliverer alive, for a while at least. "

"And wherefore? You are too subtle for me. "

"For this reason, father; he loves her who is named Aca, and trusts tomarry her, to marry her fully according to the custom of his people:therefore I would that he should see her given to another. "

"To another! To whom then?"

"To Olfan the king, who also loves her. "

Now Nam held up his hands in perplexity, saying:

"Oh! my daughter, be plain, I pray of you, for I cannot understand yourcounsels. Were it not better to give to these people the red stoneswhich they desire, and send them secretly from the land, saying thatthey had vanished into the earth again, for so it seems to me we shouldbe rid of much shame and trouble?"

"Listen, my father, and I will tell you. Were she whom I love to leavethis land, I should see her face no more, and this madness has comeupon me that I cannot live without the sight of her. Also, how can thesepeople escape the dangers of the road? But four of them are left alive, and even were they without our borders, they must journey for threemonths before they come to any place where white men live, passingthrough swamps and deserts and tribes of wild men. This they couldhardly do with arms such as those whereby the Deliverer slew thepriests, and now their arms are gone, you alone know where, my father. "

"The instruments of which you speak lie in the deep waters of the templepool, daughter, for there I caused them to be cast. "

"Their arms are gone, " said Soa, "they are alone, here they must live ordie. Three of them I will give to death, and the fourth I would make thewife of the King, seeing that nothing better can be done for her. Lether be hidden awhile, and then let Olfan take her. As for the tale thatwe shall tell of the matter to the ears of the people, doubtless timewill show it. I say that Olfan loves her and will buy her with a greatprice, and the price which you must ask shall be that henceforth heobeys you in everything. "

"The scheme is good, daughter; at the least, bearing my oath in mind, Ihave none better, though were it not for my oath, either I should killthem all or set them free. Yet who can say that it shall succeed? It isin the hands of fate, let it go as fate wills. And now follow me, that Imay place you where you shall dwell in comfort, then after we have eatenI will speak with these gods whom you have let loose upon us. "

That morning passed heavily enough to the four wretched prisoners inthe palace. For some hours they sat together in the throne-room almostsilent, for they were crushed by misfortune and fear; the toils wereclosing on them, and they knew it, nor could they lift a finger to savethemselves. 

Francisco knelt and prayed, Leonard and Juanna sat hand in handlistening to him, while Otter wandered to and fro like an unquietspirit, cursing Soa, Saga, and all women in many languages and with aresource and vigour that struck his hearers as unparalleled. At lengthhe vanished through the curtains, to get drunk probably, Leonardreflected. 

However, the dwarf sought not drink, but vengeance. A few minuteslater, hearing screams in the courtyard, Leonard ran out to find himselfwitness to a curious scene. There on the ground, surrounded by a groupof other women, her companions, who were laughing at her discomfiture, lay the stately Saga, bride of the Snake. Over her stood her lord andmaster, the god Jal, his left hand twisted in her long hair, while withhis right, in which he grasped a leather thong, despite her screams andentreaties, he administered to her one of the soundest and, be it added, best deserved thrashings that ever fell to the lot of erring woman. 

"What are you doing?" said Leonard. 

"I am teaching this wife of mine that it is not well to drug a god, Baas, " gasped Otter; then added with a final and most ferocious cut, "There, get you gone, witch, and let me see your ugly face no more. "

The woman rose and went, cursing and weeping, while the dwarf followedLeonard back into the throne-room. 

"You have done it now, Otter, " said Leonard. "Well, it does not muchmatter. I fancy she is gone for good, any way. "

"Yes, Baas, she has gone, and she has gone sore, " replied Otter with afaint grin. 

At that moment a messenger arrived announcing that Nam was withoutwaiting for an audience. 

"Let him be admitted, " said Juanna with a sigh, and seated herself onone of the thrones, Otter clambering into the other. 

They had scarcely taken their places when the curtains were thrownback and the ancient priest entered, attended by about a score of hisfellows. He bowed himself humbly before Juanna and the dwarf and thenspoke. 

"Oh! ye gods, " he said, "I come in the name of the People of the Mistto take counsel with you. Why it is we do not know, but things have goneamiss in the land: the sun does not shine as in past years before youcame to bless us, neither does the grain spring. Therefore your peopleare threatened with a famine, and they pray that you may comfort themout of the store of your wisdom. "

"And if we have no comfort to give, Nam?"

"Then, Queen, the people ask that you will be pleased to meet themto-morrow in the temple at the moon-rise, when the night is one hourold, that they may talk with you there through the mouth of me, yourservant. "

"And if we weary of your temple and will not come, Nam?" asked Juanna. 

"Then this is the command of the people, O Aca: that we bring youthither, and it is a command that may not be disobeyed, " answered thehigh priest slowly. 

"Beware, Nam, " replied Juanna; "strange things happen here that call forvengeance. Our servants pass away like shadows, and in their place wefind such weapons as you carry, " and she pointed to the priests' knives. "We will come to-morrow night at the rising of the moon, but again I sayto you, beware, for now our mercy is but as a frayed rope, and it werewell for you all that the cord should not break. "

"Ye know best whither your servants have wandered, O Aca, " said thepriest, stretching out his hands in deprecation, and speaking in a toneof which the humility did not veil the insolence, "for true gods such asye are can guard their servants. We thank you for your words, O ye gods, and we pray you to be merciful to us, for the threats of true gods arevery terrible. And now one little word. I ask justice of you, O ye gods. She who was given to be bride of the Snake, my niece who is named Saga, has been cruelly beaten by some evil-doer here in the palace, as I know, for but now I met her bruised and weeping. I ask of you then thatye search out this evil-doer and punish him with death or stripes. Farewell, O ye high gods. "

Leonard looked at the priest as he bowed humbly before the thrones, anda desire to take Otter's advice and kill him entered his heart, for heknew that he had come to drag them to their trial and perhaps to doom. He still had his revolver, and it would have been easy to shoot him, forNam's broad breast was a target that few could miss. And yet, what couldit help them to shed his blood? There were many to fill his place ifhe died, and violence would certainly be answered with violence. No, hewould let him be, and they must bide their fate. 

CHAPTER XXVIII

JUANNA PREVARICATES

The morrow drew towards its evening. Like those that had gone beforeit, this day had been misty and miserable, only distinguished from itspredecessors by the fall of some sharp showers of sleet. Now, as theafternoon waned, the sky began to clear in its accustomed fashion; butthe bitter wind sweeping down the mountains, though it drove away thefog, gave no promise of any break in the weather. At sunset Leonard wentto the palace gates and looked towards the temple, about the wallsof which a number of people were already gathering, as though inanticipation of some great event. They caught sight of him, and drewas near to the gates of the palace as they dared, howling curses andshaking their fists. 

"This is a foretaste of what we must expect to-night, I suppose, " saidLeonard to Francisco, who had followed him, as they retreated across thecourtyard. "We are in trouble now, friend. I do not so much care for myown sake, but it breaks my heart to think of Juanna. What will be theend of it, I wonder?"

"For me, Outram, the end will be death, of that I am sure; well, I havelong expected it, and I am ready to die. What your fate will be I cannotsay; but as to the Senora, comfort yourself; for many weeks I have had apresentiment that she will escape safely. "

"In that case I am ready enough to go, " answered Leonard. "Life is asdear to me as to other men; but I tell you, Francisco, that I would paymine down gladly to-night as the price of her deliverance. "

"I know it, Outram; we are both of one mind there, and perhaps beforemany hours are over we shall be called upon to practise what we preach. "

By now they had reached the throne-room, where Otter, who for the lasttwenty hours had been quite sober, was squatted on the floor at thefoot of his throne, a picture of repentant misery, while Juanna walkedswiftly up and down the long room, lost in reflection. 

"Any news, Leonard?" she said as they came in. 

"None, except that there are great preparations going on yonder, " and henodded towards the temple; "also a mob is howling at the gates. "

"Oh!" groaned Otter, addressing Juanna, "cannot you, who are namedShepherdess of the Heavens, prophesy to these people that the weatherwill break, and so save us from the Snake?"

"I can prophesy, " she answered; "but it will not change to-night, nor, Ithink, to-morrow. However, I will try. "

Then came a silence: nobody seemed to have anything to say. It wasbroken by the entrance of Olfan, whose face showed the disturbance ofhis mind. 

"What passes, Olfan?" asked Juanna. 

"Queen, " he answered sadly, "there is great trouble at hand. The peoplerave for the blood of you, their gods. Nam told you that ye are summonedthis night to confer with the people. Alas! I must tell you otherwise. This night ye will be put upon your trial before the Council of theElders. "

"That we guessed, Olfan, and if the verdict goes against us, what then?"

"Alas that I must say it! Then, Queen, you will be hurled, all of you, into the pool of the Snake, to be food for the Snake. "

"Cannot you protect us, Olfan?"

"I cannot, O Queen, except with my own life. The soldiers are undermy command indeed; but in this matter they will not obey me, for thepriests have whispered in their ears, and if the sun does not shine theytoo must starve next winter. Pardon me, Queen, but if you are gods, howis it that you need help from me who am but a man? Cannot the gods thenprotect themselves and be avenged upon their enemies?"

Juanna looked despairingly at Leonard, who sat by her side pulling athis beard, as was his fashion when perplexed. 

"I think that you had better tell him, " he said in English. "Oursituation is desperate. Probably in a few hours he will know us to beimpostors; indeed, he guesses it already. It is better that he shouldlearn the truth from our own lips. The man is honest; moreover, he oweshis life to us, though it is true that were it not for us he would neverhave been in danger of his life. Now we must trust him and take ourchance; if we make a mistake, it does not greatly matter--we have madeso many already. "

Juanna bowed her head and thought awhile, then she lifted it and spoke. 

"Olfan, " she said, "are we alone? That which I have to say must beoverheard by none. "

"We are alone, Queen, " he answered, glancing round, "but these wallshave ears. "

"Olfan, draw near. "

He obeyed, and leaning forward she spoke to him almost in a whisper, while the others clustered round to hear her words. 

"You must call me Queen no more, " she said in a voice broken withhumiliation. "I am no goddess, I am but a mortal woman, and this man, "and she pointed to Otter, "is no god, he is only a black dwarf. "

She paused, watching the effect of her words. An expression ofastonishment swept across the king's face, but it was her boldnessrather than the purport of her speech that caused it. Then he smiled. 

"Perhaps I have guessed as much, " he answered. "And yet I must stillcall you by that name, seeing that you are the queen of all women, forsay, where is there another so lovely, so brave, or so great? Here atleast there are none, " and he bowed before her with a stately courtesythat would have become any European gentleman. 

Now it was Leonard's turn to look astonished. There was nothing in theking's words to which he could take objection, and yet he did not liketheir tone; it was too full of admiration. Moreover it seemed to himthat Olfan was not in the least disappointed to discover as a fact thatJuanna was only a woman--a supposition which was fully established byhis next speech. 

"I am glad to learn from your own lips, Queen, that you are no goddess, but a mortal lady, seeing that goddesses are far away and we men mustworship them from afar, whereas women--we may love, " and again he bowed. 

"My word!" said Leonard to himself, "this king is setting himself up asmy rival. I almost wish I had put things on a more satisfactory footing;but of course it is absurd. Poor Juanna!"

As for Juanna herself, she started and blushed; here was a new trouble, but however disagreeable it might prove to be, now was no time to showdispleasure. 

"Listen, Olfan, " she said, "this is not an hour for pretty speecheswhich mean nothing, for it seems that before the light dawns again I maywell be dead and far beyond all love and worship. This is our tale: wecame to your land to seek adventures, and also to win those red stonesthat you name the blood of Aca, which among the white people are muchprized as ornaments for their women. That is why I, who am a woman, urged the Deliverer to undertake this journey, and it is because of myfolly that now we stand in danger of our lives. "

"Your pardon, Queen, " said Olfan bluntly, "but I would ask you onequestion before you tell me the end of your tale. What is this white manto you?"

Now Juanna was "in a cleft stick"; if she said that Leonard was nothingto her, it might possibly be better for him, though it was doubtfulwhether Olfan would believe her. If, on the other hand, she said thathe was her husband, it might be better for herself, and protect her fromthe advances of this dignified savage; but against this course her priderevolted. Had she not always indignantly repudiated the validity of thathateful marriage, and though she loved him, were not she and Leonardin a sense at daggers drawn? Still she must decide, and quickly; hercommon-sense told her that under the circumstances it was her pridewhich must give way. 

"He is my husband, " she said boldly. 

Olfan's face fell; then a look of doubt came into it, for Juanna's modeof life, every detail of which was known to him, seemed to contradicther statement. 

Seeing that he did not believe her, Juanna plunged still deeper into themire. 

"He is my husband, " she said again. "This man, " and she pointed toFrancisco, "who is a priest among us, married us according to ourcustoms some six moons since, and Otter yonder was witness to themarriage. "

"Is this so?" asked Olfan. 

"It is so, King, " replied Francisco. "I married them, and they are manand wife. "

"Yes, yes, it is so, " put in Otter, "for I saw it done, and wecelebrated a great sacrifice in honour of that wedding feast. I wouldthat we could have such another here to-night. "

"Fear not, Dwarf, " answered Olfan with a touch of irritation, "you willsee enough of sacrifices before all is ended. "

Then a new thought struck him, and he added, "You say that the Delivereris your husband, Queen, and these men bear witness to it, all exceptyour lord himself! Now tell me one thing more: do you love him and wouldyou be sorry if he died?"

Juanna's brow burnt red as the ruby stone upon it, for with theexception of her black robe she was prepared to proceed to the temple. But there was no help for it now; she must speak clearly, however muchit shamed her to do so, lest Olfan might take her silence as a hint, andthe "husband" for whom she disavowed affection should be removed fromher life for ever. 

"You have little right to put such a question to me, King, yet I willanswer it. I love him, and if he died I should die also. "

Leonard suppressed an exclamation with difficulty, for here was Juannaappearing in a new light indeed. 

"I am answered, Queen, " said Olfan in tones of deep depression. "Now, ifit pleases you, will you end your tale?"

"There is not much to tell, " replied Juanna, heaving a sigh of relief, for this cross-examination as to her exact relations with Leonard hadbeen somewhat trying. "The woman Soa, my servant, is of your people;indeed, she is a daughter to Nam the priest, and fled the land fortyyears ago because she was destined to the Snake. "

"Where is she now?" interrupted Olfan, looking round. 

"We do not know; last night she vanished as our other servants havevanished. "

"Perhaps Nam knows, and if so you may see her again soon. Proceed, Queen. "

"After the Deliverer and I were married, Soa, who had been my nurse formany years, told us of the Great People her brethren, among whom shewished to die. "

"May her desire be gratified!" put in Otter. 

"And said that if we would escort her thither we could buy many suchstones as that upon my brow, which she had brought with her from thiscountry and given to me. Then it was that I, desiring the playthings, tormented my husband till he consented to lead me hither, though hisown heart spoke against it. So we came, and the journey was long andterrible, but at last we reached the cliff yonder which borders the Landof Mist, and it was then for the first time, when it was too late to goback, that Soa told us the tale of the gods of your people, and showedus that either we must do sacrilege and feign to be those gods comeback, as the prophecy promised, or perish miserably. Indeed this was herplot, to set up false gods over you, having first told the secret to thepriests that she might gain honour with them and save herself alive. 

"And now, Olfan, that is all the tale. We have played the game and wehave lost, or so it seems--that is, unless you help us;" and she claspedher hands and looked upon him pleadingly. 

The king dropped his eyes as though he were not willing to contemplatethe loveliness which, as he now learned, belonged to the white strangerat Juanna's side. 

"Have I not said that my power is little, Queen?" he answered somewhatsullenly. "Also, why should I help those who came to this land to trickus, and who have brought the anger of the gods upon its children?"

"Because we saved your life, Olfan, and you swore to be loyal to us. "

"Had it not been for you, Queen, my life would not have been in danger;moreover, I swore fealty to gods, and now the gods are mortals, uponwhom the true gods will be avenged. Why then should I help you?"

"Because we have been friends, Olfan. You shall help us for my sake. "

"For your sake, Queen, " he said bitterly, "for your sake, who tell methat you are this man's wife and that you love him to the death. Nay, this is much to ask. Had it been otherwise, had you been unwed andwilling to look upon me, the king of this land, with favour, thendoubtless I had died for your sake if there were need. But now--! Haveyou then no better reasons to show why I should risk my life for you andfor these men?"

"I have two more reasons, King, and if they are not enough, then leaveus to our fate, and let us, who must prepare to die, waste no morebreath in words. The first is that we are your friends and have trustedyou, saving your life at the danger of our own and telling you this taleof our own free will. Therefore in the name of friendship, which youshould hold sacred, who are no common man but a king, we demand yourhelp, we who have put our lives in the hollow of your hand, knowing thatyou are of noble mind and will not betray us. 

"The second is that our interest is your interest: we strive against Namand the priests, and so do you. If Nam conquers us to-day, to-morrowit will be your turn, and the Snake, whose fangs we must feel, shall indays to come feed upon you also. Now is the hour of destiny for you andyour descendants: cling to us and break the yoke of Nam and the priests, or desert us and bind that yoke upon your shoulders to your doom. I havespoken--choose. "

Olfan thought awhile and answered:

"Truly your mind is great, Queen, and sees far into the darkness ofthings such as our women have no knowledge of. You should have ruledthis country and not I, for then by now Nam, who is my master, wouldhave begged his daily bread at the gates of your palace, and the priestshis servants had become the hewers of your wood and the drawers of yourwater. But I will not talk to you of policy, for time is short. Nay, Iwill deal with your first reason and that alone. 

"You have conjured me in the name of friendship and of my oath, and bythe memory of service done, and not in vain. I am a man different fromthat race of men of whom you are, a wild chief of a wild tribe, havinglittle wisdom; yet I have learned these things--never to break apromise, never to desert a friend, and never to forget a service. Therefore, because I swore fealty to you, because you are my friend, andbecause you saved my life, I will protect you to the last, though itmay well chance that I can do nothing except die for you. For, Queen, although you can be nought to me while yonder man lives, still I amready to give my life for you. As for the others I will say this only, that I will not harm them or betray them. 

"Now I go to speak with certain of the great men who are friends to meand hate the priest, so that when this matter comes on for judgment theymay lift up their voices in your favour, for nothing can be done exceptby policy--that is, not now. Shortly I will return to lead you to thetemple. Till then, farewell, " and he bowed and was gone. 

When the curtain had swung to behind Olfan, Juanna sank back in herchair and sighed, but Leonard sprang up and said:

"Juanna, that savage is right, you should have been a queen. I know whatit must have cost you to say what you did. "

"Pray, to what do you refer, Leonard?" she said, interrupting himcoldly. 

"I mean about our being married and the rest. "

"Oh! yes. Well, you see it is sometimes necessary to tell white lies, and I think that after to-night I am entitled to a prize for generalproficiency in this respect. Of course, " she added, dropping hersarcastic tone, "you will not misinterpret anything that I was forcedto say to Olfan with reference to yourself, because you know that thosestatements were the biggest fibs of all. Just then, had it been needful, I should have been prepared to swear that I was married to Otter anddeeply attached to him, or even to the king himself, who, by theway, strikes me as the most satisfactory savage that I have ever comeacross--in short, as a gentleman. "

Leonard turned pale with anger. 

"Really, Juanna, " he said, "I think that you might wait until I seek totake some advantage of our friendship and accidental relations beforeyou rebuke me as you think fit to do. It is little short of an insult, and were we in any civilised country I would never speak to you again. "

"Don't get angry, Leonard, " she said appealingly, for Juanna seemed tohave every mood at her command and ready to be assumed at a moment'snotice. Perhaps this gift was one of the secrets of her charm, sincemonotony is a thing to be avoided by women who seek to rule, even themonotony of sweetness. "It is very unkind of you, " she went on, "tospeak crossly to me when I am so tired with talking to that savage andwe may all be dead and buried in a few hours, " and she looked as thoughshe were going to cry. 

Leonard collapsed instantly, for Juanna's plaintive mood was the onethat he could resist the least of any. 

"You would make me angry if I were on my death-bed, " he said, "that is, when you talk like that. But there it is, I cannot change you, so letus change the subject. Have you any of that poison to spare? If so, youmight serve us out a little; we may want it before the evening is over. "

Juanna put her hand to her hair and after some manipulation produced atiny skin bag, from which she extracted a brown ball of about the sizeof a rifle bullet. 

"I can afford to be generous, " she said with a little laugh; "there isenough here to kill twenty of us. "

Then Leonard took a knife and chipped off three fragments from the ball, taking one himself and presenting the other two to Francisco and Otter. The priest received it doubtfully, but the dwarf would have none of it. 

"Keep it for yourself, Baas, " he said, "keep it for yourself. Whateverway I die it shall not be thus. I do not love a medicine that causes mento tie themselves into knots and then turns them green. No, no; first Iwill face the jaws of the Snake. "

So Leonard took that piece also. 

CHAPTER XXIX

THE TRIAL OF THE GODS

Juanna had scarcely restored the remainder of her deadly medicine to itshiding-place, when the curtains were drawn and Nam entered. After hiscustomary salutations, which on this occasion were more copious thanusual, he remarked blandly that the moon had risen in a clear sky. 

"Which means, I suppose, that it is time for us to start, " said Leonardgruffly. 

Then they set out, Juanna in her monk-like robe, and Otter in his redfringe and a goat-skin cape which he insisted upon wearing. 

"I may as well die warm as cold, Baas, " he explained, "for of cold Ishall know enough when I am dead. "

At the palace gate Olfan and a guard were waiting, but they found noopportunity of speaking with him. Here also were gathered a great numberof priests, who preceded and followed them. 

The procession being formed, they were led solemnly to a different gateof the temple from that by which they had entered it on their previousvisits. On this occasion the secret passages were avoided, and theypassed up a broad avenue though the centre of the amphitheatre, toseats that had been prepared for them on that side of the pool which wasfurthest from the colossal idol. As before, the temple was crowded withhuman beings, and their advance through it was very impressive, for thepriests chanted as they walked, while the multitude preserved an ominoussilence. 

At first Leonard was at a loss to know why they were placed on thehither side of the pool, but presently he saw the reason. In front ofthe chairs to be occupied by Juanna and Otter, an open space of rock wasleft, semicircular in shape, on which were set other seats to the numberof thirty or more. These seats were allotted to elders of the people, who, as Leonard guessed rightly, had been chosen to act as their judges. The position was selected for the convenience of these elders, and inorder that the words they spoke might be heard by a larger proportion oftheir vast audience. 

When Juanna and Otter were seated, and Leonard and Francisco had takentheir places behind them, Nam came forward to address the Council andthe multitude beyond. 

"Elders of the People of the Mist, " he said, "I have conveyed yourwishes to the holy gods, who but lately have deigned to put on the fleshof men to visit us their people; namely, that they should meet you hereand talk with you of the trouble which has come upon the land. And nowthe gracious gods have assented to your wish, and behold, they areface to face with you and with this great company of their children. Bepleased therefore to make known what you desire to the gods, that theymay answer you, either with their own mouths or by the voice of me, their servant. "

He ceased, and after a pause, during which the people murmured angrily, an elder rose and said:

"We would know of you how it is, O Aca and O Jal, that the summer hasdeserted the land. Now our strait is very sorry, for famine will comeupon us with the winter snows. A while ago, O Aca and O Jal, you changedthe worship of this people, forbidding the victims who had been preparedto be offered up at the spring festival, and lo! there has been nospring. Therefore we ask a word of you on this matter, for the peoplehave consulted together, and say by our voice that they will have nogods who kill the spring. Speak, O ye gods, and you, Nam, speak also, for we would learn the reason of these evils; and from you, O Nam, wewould learn how it comes that you have proclaimed gods in the land whosebreath has destroyed the sunshine. "

"Ye ask me, O People of the Mist, " answered Juanna, "why it is that thewinter stretches out his hand over the slumber of the spring, forbiddingher to awake, and I will answer you in few words and short. It isbecause of your disobedience and the hardness of your hearts, O yerebellious children. Did ye not do sacrifice when we forbade you to takethe blood of men? Ay, and have not our servants been stolen secretlyaway and put to death to satisfy your lust for slaughter? It is for thisreason, because of your disobedience, that the heavens have grown hardas your own hearts and will not bless you with their sunshine and theirgentle rain. I have answered you. "

Then again the spokesman of the elders rose and said:

"We have heard your words, O Aca, and they are words of little comfort, for to sacrifice is the custom of the land, and hitherto no evil hasbefallen us because of that ancient custom. Yet if there has beenoffence, it is not we who have offended, but rather the priests in whosehands these matters lie; and as for your servants, we know nothing ofthem, or of their fate. Now, Nam, make answer to the charges of thegods, and to the questions of the people, for you are the chief of theirservants and you have proclaimed them to be true gods and set them overus to rule us. "

Thus adjured, Nam stood forward, and his mien was humble and anxious, for he saw well that his accusers were not to be trifled with, and thathis life, or at least his power, was at stake, together with those ofthe gods. 

"Children of the Mist, " he began, "your words are sharp, yet I do notcomplain of them, for, as ye shall learn, my fault has been grievous. Truly, I am the chief of the servants of the gods, and I am also theservant of the people, and now it would seem that I have betrayed bothgods and people, though not of my own will. 

"Listen: ye know the legend that has come down to us, that Aca and Jalshould reappear in the land, wearing the shapes of a fair white maidenand of a black dwarf. Ye know also how they came as had been promised, and how I showed them to you here in this temple, and ye accepted them. Ye remember that then they put away the ancient law and forbade thesacrifices, and by the hand of their servant who is named Deliverer, they destroyed two of the priests, my brethren, in a strange andterrible fashion. 

"Then I murmured, though they threatened me with death, but ye overruledmy words and accepted the new law, and from that hour all things havegone ill. Now I took counsel with my heart, for it seemed wonderful tome that the gods should discard their ancient worship, and I said tomy heart: Can these be true gods, or have I perchance been duped?Thenceforward I held my peace, and set myself to watch, and now aftermuch watching--alas! I must say it to my shame--I have discovered thatthey are no true gods, but wicked liars who have sought to usurp theplaces of the gods. "

He paused, and a roar of rage and astonishment went up from theassembled thousands. 

"It has come at last, " whispered Leonard into Juanna's ear. 

"Yes, it has come, " she answered. "Well, I expected it, and now we mustface it out. "

When the tumult had subsided, the spokesman of the elders addressed Nam, saying:

"These are heavy words, O Nam, and having uttered them you must provethem, for until they are proved we will not believe readily that thereare human beings so wicked that they dare to name themselves as gods. When you proclaimed these strangers to be Aca and Jal, we accepted them, perhaps too easily and after too short a search. Now you denounce themas liars, but we will not disclaim them whom we have once received tillwe are sure that there is no room for error. It may chance, Nam, that itwould please you well to cast aside those gods who have threatened youwith death and do not love you. "

"I should be bold indeed, " answered Nam, "if I dared to speak as I havespoken lacking testimony to establish a charge so dreadful as that whichI bring against these wanderers. Nor should I seek to publish my ownshame and folly were I not forced thereto by knowledge that, did Iconceal it, would make me a partner of their crime. Listen, this is thetale of those whom we have worshipped: the fair woman, as she herselftold us, is named Shepherdess of the Heavens, and she is the wife of thewhite man who is named Deliverer, and the dwarf Dweller in the Waters istheir servant, together with the second white man and the others. 

"Dwelling in a far country, these men and women chanced to learn thestory of our people--how, I shall show you presently--and also that wefind in the earth and use in the ceremonies of our temple certain redand blue stones which among the white people are of priceless value. These they determined to steal, being adventurers who seek after wealth. To this end the Shepherdess learned our language, also she learned howto play the part of Aca, while the dwarf, dog that he is, dared to takethe holy name of Jal. I will be short: they accomplished their journey, and the rest you know. But, as it happened, none of the stones theycovert have come into their hands, except that gem which the Shepherdesswears upon her forehead, and this she brought with her. 

"Now, People of the Mist, when doubts of these gods had entered intome I made a plan: I set spies to watch them in the palace yonder, thosespies being the wife who was given to the dwarf and her handmaidens. Also, I caused their black servants to be seized and thrown to theSnake, one or two of them at a time, for of this I was sure, that ifthey had the power they would protect their servants. But, as the Snakeknows, those men were not protected. Meanwhile reports came to mefrom the women, and more especially from Saga, the granddaughter of mybrother, who was given as a bride to Jal. And this was their report:that the dwarf behaved himself like a cur of low birth, and that whenhe was in liquor, which was often, he babbled of his doings with theDeliverer in other lands, though all that he said they could not tell mebecause even now he has little knowledge of our tongue. 

"When these tales came to my ears, you may guess, O People of the Mist, that if I had doubted before, now my heart was shaken, and yet I hadno proof. In my darkness I prayed to the gods for light, and lo! lightcame. Among the followers of these wanderers was a woman, and butyesterday this woman visited me and confessed all. Forty years ago shehad fled from among our people--I know not why, but she took with her aknowledge of our secrets. It was she who told them of the gods and thestory of the gods, and she instructed them how they should deceive usand win the red stones which they desired. But now her heart repents herof the evil, and I will summon her before you, that ye may judge betweenme and these liars who have brought me to this shame. Bring forth thewoman. "

There was a silence, and so intense was the interest that no sound camefrom the audience, which watched for the appearance of the witness. Presently Soa advanced from the shadows at the foot of the colossus, andescorted by two priests took her stand in the centre of the semicircleof judges. 

"Speak, woman, " said Nam. 

Then Soa spoke. "I am of the People of the Mist, " she said, "as ye mayknow by looking on me and hearing me. I was the daughter of a priest, and forty years ago, when I was young and fair, I fled this land for myown reasons, and travelled south for three months' journey, till I cameto a village on a mighty river, where I dwelt for twenty years earning alivelihood as a doctoress of medicine. Then there came into that villagea white man, whose wife gave birth to a daughter and died. I became thenurse of that daughter; she is the woman who sits before you, and hername is Shepherdess. 

"Twenty years more went by, and I desired to return to my own landthat I might die among my people. I told the tale of my land and of itswealth to the Shepherdess and to her husband the Deliverer, for I darednot travel alone. Therefore in my wickedness I showed them how theymight feign to be the gods of the People of the Mist, come backaccording to the legend, for I saw that the dwarf, the Deliverer'sservant, was shaped like to the shape of the statue of Jal, who sits instone above you. Being greedy, they fell into the plan, for above allthings they desired to win the precious stones. But when we were comehither the true gods visited me in a dream so that my heart was troubledbecause of the evil which I had done, and yesterday I escaped to Nam andtold him all the tale which you have heard. That is the story, People ofthe Mist, and now I pray your mercy and your pardon. "

Soa ceased, and Leonard, who had been watching the multitude, whisperedto Juanna:

"Speak quickly if you can think of anything to say. They are silent nowbecause of their astonishment, but in another minute they will breakout, and then----"

"People of the Mist, " cried Juanna, taking the hint, "you have heard thewords of Nam and the words of her who was my servant. They dare to telyou that we are no gods. So be it: on this matter we will not reasonwith you, for can the gods descend to prove their godhead? We will notreason, but I will say this in warning: put us away if you wish, --and itmay well chance that we shall suffer ourselves to be put away, since thegods do not desire to rule over those who reject them, but would chooserather to return to their own place. 

"Yet for you it shall be a sad and an unlucky day when ye lift a handagainst our majesty, for in going we will leave you that by which weshall be remembered. Ay, we will bequeath to you three things: famineand pestilence and civil war, which shall rage among you and destroyyou till ye are no more a people. Ye have suffered our servants to bemurdered, and disobeyed our commands, and it is for this reason, as Ihave told you, that the sun shines no more and the summer will not come. Complete your wickedness if ye will, and let the gods follow by the paththat their servants trod. Then, People of the Mist, ye shall reap as yehave sown, and death and desolation shall be your harvest. 

"Now for that base slave who has borne false witness against us. Amongthe many things she has told you, one thing she has left untold: thatshe is daughter to Nam the priest; that she fled the land because shewas chosen bride to the Snake, and is therefore an apostate worthy ofdeath. One word also as to Nam, her father; if his tale be true, then hehimself is condemned by it, for doubtless he knew all at the beginning, from the lips of his daughter Soa. 

"Yes, knowing the truth he dared to set up gods in the land whom hebelieved to be false, trusting thereby to increase his own power andglory, and when these failed him because of his wickedness, then he didnot scruple to cry aloud his shame. I have spoken, People of the Mist. Now judge between us and let fate follow judgment, for we renounce you. "

She ended, her face alight with anger and her eyes flashing withexcitement, and so great was the power of her eloquence and beauty thatit seemed to throw a spell of silence over the hearts of her fierce andturbulent audience, while Soa slunk back into the shadow and Nam coweredvisibly. 

"It is false, O people, " he cried in a voice that trembled with rage andfear. "My daughter told me the tale for the first time at dawn to-day. "

His words awoke the audience as it were, and instantly there arose ababel of sounds that rent the very skies. "His daughter! He says thatshe is his daughter! Nam owns his crimes!" yelled some. 

"Away with the false gods!" shouted others. 

"Touch them not, they are true gods and will bring a curse upon us!"answered a third party, among whom Leonard recognised the voice ofOlfan. 

And so the clamour went on. For full ten minutes it raged, till theexhaustion of those that made it brought it to its end, and Juanna, whoall this while sat silent as some lovely marble statue, became awarethat the spokesman of the elders was once more addressing the multitude. 

"People of the Mist, " he said, "hold your peace, and hearken to me. We have been chosen judges of this matter, and now, having consultedtogether, we will give judgment, and you shall be bound by it. As towhether these strangers who are named Aca and Jal are true gods orfalse, we say no word. But if they are false gods, then surely Nam isguilty with them. "

Here a shout of assent burst from the audience, and Leonard watching thehigh priest saw him tremble. 

"Yet, " he went on, "they have told us by the mouth of her who sitsbefore you, that it is because of our offences that the sun has ceasedto shine at their command. Therefore at their command it can be made toshine. Then let them give us a sign or let them die, if indeed they aremortal, for if they are not mortal we cannot kill them. And this shallbe the sign which they must give: If to-morrow at the dawn the mistshave vanished and the sun shines red and clear on the snows of yondermountain, then it is well and we will worship them. But if the morningis cold and mist-laden, then, true gods or false, we will hurl them fromthe head of the statue into the pit of the Snake, there to be dealtwith by the Snake, or to deal with him as it may chance. That is ourjudgment, People of the Mist, and Nam shall carry it out if need be, forhe shall keep his power and his place until all these wonders are madeclear, and then himself he shall be judged according to their issue. "

Now the great mass of the people cried aloud that this was a wise andjust saying, but others were silent, for though they did not agree withit they dared not dispute the sentence. Then Juanna rose and said:

"We have heard your words and we will withdraw to consider them, and bydawn ye shall see us seated on the Black One yonder. But whether we willcause the sun to shine or choose to pass to our own place by the pathof boiling waters, we do not know, though it seems to me that the lastthing is better than the first, for we weary of your company, People ofthe Mist, and it is not fitting that we should bless you longer with ourpresence. Nevertheless, should we choose that path, those evils which Ihave foretold shall fall upon you. Olfan, lead us hence. "

The king stepped forward with his guards and the procession passed backtowards the palace solemnly and in silence, for none attempted to bartheir way. They reached it safely at exactly ten o'clock by Leonard'swatch. 

"Now let us eat and drink, " said Leonard when they stood alone in thethrone-room, "for we shall need all our strength to-night. "

"Yes, " answered Juanna with a sad smile, "let us eat and drink, forto-morrow we die. "

CHAPTER XXX

FRANCISCO'S EXPIATION

When they had finished their meal, which was about as sad anentertainment as can well be conceived, they began to talk. 

"Do you see any hope?" asked Juanna of the other three. 

Leonard shook his head and answered:

"Unless the sun shines at dawn to-morrow, we are dead men. "

"Then there is little chance of that, Baas, " groaned Otter, "for thenight is as the nights have been for these five weeks. No wonder thatthis people are fierce and wicked who live in such a climate. "

Juanna hid her face in her hands for a while, then spoke:

"They did not say that any harm was to come to you, Leonard, or toFrancisco, so perhaps you will escape. "

"I doubt it, " he answered; "besides, to be perfectly frank, if you aregoing to die, I would rather die with you. "

"Thank you, Leonard, " she said gently, "but that will not help either ofus much, will it? What will they do with us? Throw us from the head ofthe statue?" and she shuddered. 

"That seems to be their amiable intention, but at any rate we need noneof us go through with it alive. How long does your medicine take towork, Juanna?"

"Half a minute at the outside, I fancy, and sometimes less. Are you surethat you will take none, Otter? Think; the other end is dreadful. "

"No, Shepherdess, " said the dwarf, who now in the presence of imminentdanger was as he had been before he sought comfort in the beer-pot, brave, ready, and collected, "it is not my plan to suffer myself to behurled into the pit. Nay, when the time comes I shall spring there ofmy own free will, and if I am not killed--and an otter knows how to leapinto a pool--then if I cannot avoid him I will make a fight for it withthat great dweller in the water. Yes, and I go to make ready that withwhich I will fight, " and he rose and departed to his sleeping-place. 

Just then Francisco followed his example, seeking a quiet place in whichto pursue his devotions, and thus Leonard and Juanna were left alone. 

For some minutes he watched her as she sat beside him in her whitetemple dress, her beautiful face looking stern and sad against the duskybackground of the torchlight, and a great shame and pity filled hisheart. The blood of this girl was on his hands, and he could do nothingto help her. His selfishness had dragged her into this miserableenterprise, and now its inevitable end was at hand and he was hermurderer, the murderer of the woman who was all the world to him, andwho had been entrusted to his care with her father's dying breath. 

"Forgive me, " he said at length with something like a sob, and layinghis hand upon hers. 

"What have I to forgive, Leonard?" she replied gently. "Now that it isall finished and I look back upon the past few months, it seems to methat it is you who should forgive, for I have often behaved badly toyou. "

"Nonsense, Juanna, it was my wicked folly that led you into this, andnow you are about to be cut off in the beginning of your youth and inthe flower of your beauty. I am your murderer, Juanna, " and droppinghis voice he hesitated, then added: "It may as well out now, for time isshort, though I have often sworn that nothing should make me say it: Ilove you. "

She did not start or even stir at his words, but sat staring as beforeinto the darkness: only a pink flush grew upon the pallor of her neckand cheek as she answered:

"You love me, Leonard? You forget--Jane Beach!"

"It is perfectly true, Juanna, that I was once attached to Jane Beach, and it is true that I still think of her with affection, but I have notseen her for many years, and I am certain that she has thrown me overand married another man. Most man pass through several affairs of theheart in their early days; I have had but one, and it is done with. 

"When first I saw you in the slave camp I loved you, Juanna, and I havegone on loving you ever since, even after I became aware from your wordsand conduct that you did not entertain any such affection for myself. Iknow that your mind has not changed upon the matter, for had it done so, you would scarcely have spoken to me as you did to-day after Olfan leftus. Indeed, I do not altogether understand why I have told you this, since it will not interest you very much and may possibly annoy youin your last hours. I suppose it was because I wished to make a cleanbreast of it before I pass to where we lose all our loves and hopes. "

"Or find them, " said Juanna, still looking before her. 

Then there was silence for a minute or more, till Leonard, believingthat he had got his answer, began to think that he would do well toleave her for a while. Just as he was about to rise Juanna made a gentlemovement; slowly, very slowly, she turned herself, slowly she stretchedout her arms towards him, and laid her head upon his breast. 

For a moment Leonard was astounded; he could scarcely believe theevidence of his senses. Then recovering himself, he kissed her tenderly. 

Presently Juanna slipped from his embrace and said, "Listen to me, Leonard: are men all blind, I wonder, or are you an exception? I don'tknow and don't want to know, but certainly it does seem strange thatwhat has been so painfully patent to myself for the last five or sixmonths, should have been invisible to you. Leonard, you were not theonly one who fell in love yonder in the slave camp. But you quicklychecked my folly by telling me the story of Jane Beach, and of courseafter that, whatever my thoughts may have been, I did my utmost to hidethem from you, with more success, it seems, than I expected. Indeed I amnot sure that I am wise to let you see them now, for though you declarethat Jane is dead and buried, she might re-arise at any moment. I donot believe that men forget their first loves, Leonard, though theymay persuade themselves to the contrary--when they are a long way fromthem. "

"Don't you think that we might drop Jane, dear?" he answered with someimpatience, for Juanna's words brought back to his mind visions ofanother love-scene that had taken place amid the English snows more thanseven years before. 

"I am sure that I am quite ready to drop her now and for ever. But donot let us begin to spar when so little time is left to us. Let us talkof other things. Tell me that you love me, love me, love me, for thoseare the words that I would hear ringing in my years before they becomedeaf to this world and its echoes, and those are the words with which Ihope that you will greet me some few hours hence and in a happier land. Leonard, tell me that you love me for to-day and for to-morrow, now andfor ever. "

So he told her that and much more, speaking to her earnestly, hopefully, and most tenderly, as a man might speak to the woman whom he worshippedand with whom is about to travel to that shore of which we know nothing, though day and night we hear the waves that bear us forward break yonderon its beach. They talked for long, and ever while they talked Juannagrew gentler and more human, as the barriers of pride melted in the fireof her passion and the shadow of death gathered thicker upon her and theman she loved. At length her strength gave way utterly and she wept uponLeonard's breast like some frightened child, and from weeping sank intodeep slumber or swoon, he knew not which. Then he kissed her upon theforehead, and, carrying her to her bed, laid her down to rest awhilebefore she died, returning himself to the throne-room. 

Here he found Francisco and Otter. 

"Look, Baas, " said the dwarf, producing from beneath his goat-skin cloakan article which he had employed the last hour in constructing. It wasa fearful and a wonderful instrument, made out of the two sacrificialknives that had been left by the priests on the occasion of thekidnapping of the last of the Settlement men. The handles of theseknives Otter had lashed together immovably with strips of hide, formingfrom them a weapon two feet or more in length, of which the curvedpoints projected in opposite directions. 

"What is that for, Otter?" said Leonard carelessly, for he was thinkingof other things. 

"This is for the Crocodile to eat, Baas; I have seen his brothers caughtlike that before in the marshes of the Zambesi, " replied the dwarf witha grin. "Doubtless he thinks to eat me, but I have made another foodready for him. Ah! of one thing I am sure, that if he comes out therewill be a good fight, whoever conquers in the end. "

Then he proceeded to fix a hide rope to the handles of the knives, andhaving made it fast about his body with a running noose, he coiled itslength, which may have measured some thirty feet, round and round hismiddle, artfully concealing its bulk together with the knives beneathhis cloak and _moocha_. 

"Now I am a man again, Baas, " the dwarf said grimly. "I have done withdrink and such follies to which I took in my hours of idleness, for thetime has come to fight. Ay, and I shall win, Baas; the waters are myhome, and I do not fear crocodiles however big--no, not one bit; for, asI told you, I have killed them before. You will see, you will see. "

"I am afraid that I shall do nothing of the sort, Otter, " answeredLeonard sadly, "but I wish you luck, my friend. If you get out of thismess, they will think you a god indeed, and should you only find thesense to avoid drink, you may rule here till you die of old age. "

"There would be no pleasure in that, Baas, if you were dead, " answeredthe dwarf with a heavy sigh. "Alas! my folly has helped to bring youinto this trouble, but this I swear, that if I live--and my spirit tellsme that I shall not die to-night--it will be to avenge you. Fear not, Baas; when I am a god again, one by one I will kill them all, and whenthey are dead, then I will kill myself and come to look for you. "

"It is very kind of you, Otter, I am sure, " said Leonard with somethinglike a laugh, and at that moment the curtains swung aside and Soa stoodbefore them accompanied by four armed priests. 

"What do you want, woman?" exclaimed Leonard, springing towards her asthough by instinct. 

"Go back, Deliverer!" she said, holding up her hand and addressing himin the Sisutu tongue, which of course those with her did not understand. "I am guarded, and my death would be quickly followed by your own. Moreover, it would avail you little to kill me, since I come to bringyou hope for the life of her you love and for your own. Listen: the sunwill not shine to-morrow at the dawn; already the mist gathers thickand it will hold, therefore the Shepherdess and the Dwarf will behurled from the head of the statue, while you and the Bald-pate, havingwitnessed their end, will be kept alive till the autumn sacrifice, thento be offered up with the other victims. "

"Why do you come to tell us all this, woman?" said Leonard, "seeing thatwe knew it already--that is, except the news of the postponement ofour own fate, which I for one do not desire. What hope is there in thisstory? If you have nothing better to say, get you gone, traitress, andlet us see your hateful face no more. "

"I have something more to say, Deliverer. I still love the Shepherdessas you love her, and, " she added with emphasis, "as Bald-pate yonderalso loves her. Now this is my plan: two must die at dawn, but of thosetwo the Shepherdess need not be one. The morning will be misty, thestatue of the god is high, and but few of the priests will see thevictim shrouded in her black robe. What if a substitute can be found solike to her in shape and height and feature that, in the twilight andbeneath the shadow of the hood, none shall know them apart?"

Leonard started. "Who can be found?"

Slowly Soa raised her thin hand and pointed to Francisco. 

"_There stands the man!_" she said. "Were he wrapped in the cloak ofAca, who would know him from the Shepherdess? The pool and the Snake donot give back that which they have swallowed. "

If Leonard had started before, now he fairly recoiled, as the fullmeaning of this terrible proposition possessed his mind. He looked atFrancisco, who stood by wondering, for the priest did not understand theSisutu dialect. 

"Tell him, " she said. 

"Wait awhile, " he answered hoarsely; "supposing that this were carriedout, what would happen to the Shepherdess?"

"She would be concealed in the dungeons of the temple, in his dress andunder his name, " and again she pointed to Francisco, "until such timeas a chance could be found for her to escape, or to return to rule thispeople unquestioned and with honour. My father alone knows of this plot, and because of his love for me he suffers me to try it, desperate as itseems. Also, for I will tell you all the truth, he is himself indanger, and he believes that by means of the Shepherdess--who, when shereappears having survived the sacrifice, will be held by the people tobe immortal--he may save his life when the day of his own trial comes. "

"And do you think, " said Leonard, "that I will trust her alone toyou, wicked and forsworn as you are, and to the tender mercies of yourfather? No, it is better that she should die and have done with herfears and torments. "

"I did not ask you to do so, Deliverer, " said Soa quietly. "You will betaken with her, and if she lives you will live also. Is that not enough?These men here come to bear you and Bald-pate to the dungeons: they willbear you and the Shepherdess, knowing no difference, that is all. Nowtell him; perchance he may not be willing to accept. "

"Francisco, come here, " said Leonard in a low voice, speaking inPortuguese. Then he told him all, while Soa watched them with herglittering eyes. As the tale went on the priest turned ashen pale andtrembled violently, but before it was finished he ceased to tremble, andLeonard, looking at his face, saw that it was alight as with a glory. 

"I accept, " he said in a clear voice, "for thus will it be given to meto save the life of the Senora, and to atone for my offence. Come, letme make ready. "

"Francisco, " muttered Leonard, for his emotion would not suffer him tospeak aloud, "you are a saint and a hero. I wish that I could gothrough this in your stead, for most gladly would I do so, but it is notpossible. "

"It seems then that there are two saints and heroes, " replied the priestgently. "But why talk thus? It is the bounden duty of either or both ofus to die for her, yet it is far better that I should die leaving youalive to love and comfort her. "

Leonard thought a moment. "I suppose it must be so, " he said, "butHeaven knows, it is a terrible alternative. How can I trust that womanSoa? And yet if I do not trust her Juanna will be killed at once. "

"You must take the chance of it, " answered Francisco; "after all she isfond of her mistress, and it was because she grew jealous that she fledto Nam and betrayed us. "

"There is another thing, " said Leonard; "how are we to get Juanna away?If once she suspects the plot, there will be an end of it. Soa, comethither. "

She came, and he put this question to her, telling her at the same timethat Francisco consented to the scheme and that Juanna slept behind thecurtain and might awake at any moment. 

"I have that with me which shall overcome the difficulty, Deliverer, "answered Soa, "for I foresaw it. See here, " and she drew a small gourdfrom her dress, "this is that same water of which Saga gave your blackdog to drink when I escaped you. Now mix it with some spirit, go to theShepherdess, awake her, and bid her drink this to comfort her. She willobey, and immediately deep sleep will take her again that shall hold herfast for six hours. "

"It is not a poison?" asked Leonard suspiciously. 

"No, it is not a poison. What need would there be to poison one who mustdie at dawn?"

Then Leonard did as she told him. Taking a tin pannikin, one of theirfew possessions, he emptied the sleeping-draught into it and addedenough native brandy to colour the water. 

Next he went into Juanna's room and found her lying fast asleep uponthe great bed. Going up to her he touched her gently on the shoulder, saying, "Wake, my love. " She raised herself and opened her eyes. 

"Is that you, Leonard?" she said. "I was dreaming that I was a girlagain and at school at Durban, and that it was time to get up for earlyservice at the church. Oh! I remember now. Is it dawn yet?"

"No, dear, but it soon will be, " he answered; "here, drink this, it willgive you courage. "

"How horrid that spirit tastes!" she said, then sank back slowly on thecushion and in another minute fell sound asleep again. The draught wasstrong and it worked quickly. 

Leonard went to the curtain and beckoned to Soa and the others. Theyall entered except the priests, who remained clustered together near thedoorway of the great chamber talking in low tones and apparently takingno notice of what passed. 

"Take off that robe, Bald-pate, " said Soa; "I must give you another. "

He obeyed, and while Soa was engaged in clothing Juanna's senseless formin the gown of the priest, Francisco drew his diary from the pocket inhis vest where he kept it. Rapidly he wrote a few lines on a blank page, then shutting the book he handed it to Leonard together with his rosary, saying:

"Let the Senora read what I have written here, after I am dead, notbefore, and give her these beads in memory of me. Many is the time thatI have prayed for her upon them. Perhaps she will wear them after I amgone, and, although she is a Protestant, sometimes offer up a prayer forme. "

Leonard took the book and the rosary and placed them in an inner pocket. Then he turned to Otter and rapidly explained to him the meaning of allthat was being done. 

"Ah, Baas, " said the dwarf, "put no faith in that she-devil. And yetperhaps she will try to save the Shepherdess, for she loves her as alioness loves her young. But I am afraid for you, Baas, for you shehates. "

"Never mind about me, Otter, " answered Leonard. "Listen: they are goingto hide us in the dungeons of the temple; if by any chance you escape, seek out Olfan and try to rescue us. If not, farewell, and may we meetagain in another place. "

"Oh! Baas, Baas, " said Otter with a deep sob, "for myself I carenothing, nor whether I live or die, but it is sad to think that you willperish alone, and I not with you. Oh! why did Baas Tom dream that evildream? Had it not been for him, we might have been transport-riding inNatal to-day. I would that I had been a better servant to you, Baas, butit is too late now. " And as he spoke Leonard felt a great tear fall uponhis hand. 

"Never mind the servant, Otter, " he answered; "you are the best friend, black or white, that ever I had, and Heaven reward you for it. If youcan help the Baas yonder at the last, do so. At the least see that heswallows the medicine in time, for he is weak and gentle and not fittedto die such a death, " and he turned away. 

By this time Soa had arrayed Francisco in the black robe of Aca. Thewhite dress worn in the temple ceremonies he did not put on, for itremained upon Juanna, completely hidden from sight, however, by thepriest's gown. 

"Who would know them apart now?" asked Soa triumphantly, then added, handing Leonard the great ruby which she had taken from Juanna'sforehead, "Here, Deliverer, this belongs to you; do not lose the stone, for you have gone through much to win it. "

Leonard took the gem and at first was minded to dash it into theold woman's sneering face, but remembering the uselessness of such aperformance, he thrust it into his pocket together with the rosary. 

"Come, let us be going, " said Soa. "You must carry the Shepherdess, Deliverer; I will say that it is Bald-pate who has fainted with fear. Farewell, Bald-pate; after all you are a brave man, and I honour you forthis deed. Keep the hood well about your face, and if you would preservethe Shepherdess alive, be silent, answering no word whoever addressesyou, and uttering no cry however great your fear. "

Francisco went to the bed where Juanna lay, and holding out his handabove her as though in blessing, he muttered some words of prayer orfarewell. Then turning, he clasped Leonard in his arms, kissed him andblessed him also. 

"Good-bye, Francisco, " said Leonard in a choking voice; "surely theKingdom of Heaven is made up of such as you. "

"Do not weep, my friend, " answered the priest, "for there in thatkingdom I hope to greet you and her. "

And so these friends parted. 

CHAPTER XXXI

THE WHITE DAWN

Lifting Juanna in his arms, Leonard hurried from the sleeping apartmentto the throne-room, where he halted hesitating, for he did not know whatwas to happen next. Soa, who had preceded him, surrounded by the fourpriests and with a torch in her hand, stood against that wall of thechamber where she had lain bound on the night of the drugging of Otter. 

"Bald-pate has fainted with fear, he is a coward, " she said to thepriests, pointing to the burden in Leonard's arms; "open the secret way, and let us pass on. "

Then a priest came forward, and pressed upon a stone in the wall, whichgave way, leaving a space sufficiently large for him to insert his handand pull upon some hidden mechanism with all his force. Thereon a pieceof the wall swung outward as though upon a pivot, revealing a flight ofsteps, beyond which ran a narrow passage. Soa descended first, bearingthe light, which she was careful to hold in such a way as to keep thefigure of Leonard, and the burden that he bore, in comparative darkness. After her went two priests, followed by Leonard, carrying Juanna, therear being brought up by the remaining priests, who closed the secretdoor behind them. 

"So that is how it is done, " thought Leonard to himself, turning hishead to watch the process, no detail of which escaped him. 

Otter, who had followed Leonard from Juanna's chamber, saw them go, though from some little distance, for, like a cat, the dwarf could seein the dark. When the rock had closed again, he returned to Francisco, who sat upon the bed lost in prayer or thought. 

"I have seen how they make a hole in the wall, " he said, "and passthrough it. Doubtless our comrades, the Settlement men, went that way. Say, shall we try it?"

"What is the use, Otter?" answered the priest. "The road leads only tothe dungeons of the temple; if we got so far we should be caught there, and everything would be discovered, including this trick, " and hepointed to the robes of Aca, which he wore. 

"That is true, " said Otter. "Come, then, let us go and sit upon thethrones and wait till they fetch us. "

So they went to the great chairs and sat themselves down in them, listening to the tramp of the guards outside the doorway. Here Franciscoresumed his prayers, while Otter sang songs of the deeds that he haddone, and more especially a very long one which he had composed upon thetaking of the slave camp--"to keep his heart alive, " as he explained toFrancisco. 

A quarter of an hour passed and the curtains were drawn aside, admittinga band of priests, headed by Nam, and bearing two litters. 

"Now silence, Otter, " whispered Francisco, drawing his hood over hisface. 

"Here sit the gods, " said Nam, waving the torch that he carried towardsthe two quiet figures on the thrones. "Descend, ye gods, that we maybear you to the temple and seat you in a lofty place, whence ye shallwatch the glories of the rising sun. "

Then, without more ado, Otter and Francisco came down from their seats, and took their places in the litters. Presently they felt themselvesbeing borne forward at a considerable speed. When they were outside thepalace gates Otter peeped through the curtain in the hope of perceivingsome change in the weather. In vain; the mist was denser than usual, although it grew grey with the light of the coming dawn. Now they wereat those gates of the temple that were nearest to the colossal idol, andhere, at the mouth of one of the numerous underground passages, guardsassisted them to descend. 

"Farewell, Queen, " whispered the voice of Olfan into Francisco's ear;"I would have given my life to save you, but I have failed; as it is, Ilive to avenge you upon Nam and all his servants. "

Francisco made no answer, but pressed on down the passage holding hishead low. Soon they were at the foot of the idol, and, led by priests, began to ascend the stairway in the interior of the statue. Up theytoiled slowly in the utter darkness; indeed, to Francisco this, the lastjourney of his life, seemed the longest. 

At length they emerged upon the head of the colossus, where neither ofthem had been before. It formed a flat platform about eight feet square, quite unprotected at the edges, beneath which curved the sheer outlinesof the sculptured head. The ivory throne whereon Juanna had sat whenfirst she visited the temple was gone, and instead of it, placed atthe very verge of the forehead, were two wooden stools upon which thevictims must seat themselves. From this horrible elevation could be seenthat narrow space of rock between the feet of the colossus and the wallof the pool where was the stone altar, although, owing to the slope ofthe bowed head, he who stood upon it almost overhung the waters of thewell. 

Otter and Francisco seated themselves on the stools, and behind them Namand three other priests took their stand, Nam placing himself in sucha position that his companions could not see anything of Francisco'sslight form, which they believed to be that of the Shepherdess. 

"Hold me, Otter, " whispered Francisco. "My senses will leave me, and Ishall fall. "

"Shut your eyes and lean back, then you will see nothing, " answeredOtter. "Moreover, make ready your medicine, for the time is at hand. "

"It is ready, " he answered. "May I be forgiven the sin, for I cannotbear to be hurled living to the Snake!"

Otter made no answer, but set himself to watch the scene beneath him. The temple was filled with mist that from the great height looked likesmoke, and through this veil he could just distinguish the black andmoving mass of the vast assembly, who had sat the long night throughwaiting to witness the consummation of the tragedy, while the sound oftheir voices as they spoke together in hushed tones reached him likethat of the murmuring of distant waters. Behind him stood the fourpriests or executioners in a solemn, silent line, their eyes fixedupon the grey mist, while above them, around them, and beneath them wasnothing but sheer and giddy space. 

It was a hideous position, heightened by every terror that man andnature can command, and even the intrepid dwarf, who feared neitherdeath nor devil, and over whom religious doubts had no power, began tofeel its chilling influence grip his heart. As for Francisco, suchmind as he had left to him was taken up with fervent prayer, so it ispossible that he did not suffer so much as might have been expected. 

Five minutes or more passed thus; then a voice spoke from the mistbelow, saying:

"Are those who are named Aca and Jal on high, O priest?"

"They are on high, " answered Nam. 

"Is it the hour of dawn, O priest?" said the voice again, and this timeOtter knew it for that of the spokesman of the elders. 

"Not yet awhile, " answered Nam, and he glanced at the snow peak thattowered thousands of feet into the air behind and above the temple. 

Indeed every eye in that assembly was staring at this peak, although itsgigantic outline could only be seen dimly through the mist, dimly asthe shape of a corpse buried in a winding-sheet of snow. Here, upon theloftiest precipices of the mountain the full light of morning struckfirst and struck always, for their pinnacles soared far above the levelof the mist wreaths, and by the quality of that light this people judgedthe weather of the new-born day. If the snow was rosy-red, then theyknew that ere long the sun would shine upon them. If, on the other hand, it gleamed cold and white, or, still worse, grey, it was a sign that thecoming day would be misty in the city and on the plains. Therefore inthis, the hour of the trial of the gods whom they had set up, all thatcompany watched the mountain peak as they had never watched before, tosee if it should show white or red. 

Very gradually the light increased, and it seemed to Otter that the mistwas somewhat thinner than was usual at this hour, though as yet it hungdensely between them and the mountain snows. Now he could trace thewalls of the amphitheatre, now he could see the black shimmer of thewater beneath, and distinguish the glitter of many hundreds of upturnedeyeballs as they glared at him and beyond him. The silence grew more andmore intense, for none spoke or moved: all were waiting to see the dawnbreak upon the slope of snow, and wondering--would it be red or white?Must the gods die or live? So intense and fearful was the hush, unbrokenby a breath of air or the calling of a bird, that Otter could bear it nolonger, but suddenly burst into song. 

He had a fine deep voice, and it was a Zulu war-song that he sang, atriumphant paean of the rush of conquering impis interspersed with thewails of women and the groans of the dying. Louder and louder he sang, stamping his naked feet upon the rock, while the people wondered at themarvel. Surely this was a god, they thought, who chanted thus exultinglyin a strange tongue while men waited to see him cast into the jaws ofthe Snake. No mortal about to die so soon and thus terribly could findthe heart to sing, and much less could he sing such a song as that theyheard. 

"He is a god, " cried a voice far away, and the cry was echoed on everyside till at length, suddenly, men grew silent, and Otter also ceasedfrom his singing, for he had turned his head and seen. Lo! the veil ofmist that hid the mountain's upper heights grew thin:--it was the momentof dawn, but would it be a red dawn or a white? As he looked the vapoursdisappeared from the peak, though they still lay thick upon the slopesbelow, and in their place were seen its smooth and shining outlinesclothed in a cloak of everlasting snows. 

The ordeal was ended. No touch of colour, no golden sunbeam or crimsonshadow stained the ghastly surface of those snows, they were pallid asthe faces of the dead. 

"A white dawn! A white dawn!" roared the populace. "Away with the falsegods! Hurl them to the Snake!"

"It is finished, " whispered Otter again into Francisco's ear; "now takeyour medicine, and, friend, farewell!"

The priest heard and, clasping his thin hands together, turned histormented face, in which the soft eyes shone, upwards towards theheavens. For some seconds he sat thus; then Otter, peering beneath hishood, saw his countenance change, and once more a glory seemed to shineupon it as it had shone when, some hours since, Francisco promised to dothe deed that now he was about to dare. 

Again there was silence below, for the spokesman of the Council ofElders had risen, and was crying the formal question to the priestsabove:

"Is the dawn white or red, ye who stand on high?"

Nam turned and looked upon the snow. 

"The dawn is fully dawned and it is white!" he answered. 

"Be swift, " whispered Otter into Francisco's ear. 

Then the priest raised his right hand to his lips, as though to partakeof the sacrament of death. 

A moment later and he let it fall with a sigh, whispering back to Otter:"I cannot, it is a deadly sin. They must kill me, for I will not killmyself. "

Before the dwarf could answer, Nature, more merciful than hisconscience, did that for Francisco which he refused to do for himself, for of a sudden he swooned. His face turned ashen and slowly he began tosink backwards, so that he would have fallen had not Nam, who saw thathe had fainted with fear, caught him by the shoulders and held himupright. 

"The dawn is white! We see it with our eyes, " answered the spokesmen ofthe elders. "O ye who stand on high, cast down the false gods accordingto the judgment of the People of the Mist. "

Otter heard and knew that the moment had come to leap, for now he needtrouble himself with Francisco no more. 

Swiftly he turned his head, looking at Nam, for he would know if hemight carry out a purpose that he had formed. It was to seize the highpriest and bear him to the depths below. 

It was not possible, he was out of reach; moreover, were he to snatchNam away, Francisco would fall backwards, and the others might see thatthis was not the Shepherdess. Otter stood up upon his feet, and kickingthe stool on which he had sat off the platform, he watched its flight. It flew into the water, never touching the rock, and then the dwarf knewthat he had planned well. 

Now Nam and one priest seized the fainting form of Francisco and theother two stepped towards Otter. The dwarf waited till their hands wereoutstretched to grasp him, then suddenly he sprang at the man upon hisright, and shouting "Come thou with me, " he gripped him about the middlein his iron grasp, and, putting out all his strength, hurled himself andhis burden into sheer space beneath. 

The priest shrieked aloud, and a gasp of wonder went up from thewatching thousands as the dwarf and his victim rushed downward like astone. They cleared the edge of the pool by an inch or two--no more, andstruck the boiling waters, sinking through them till Otter thought theywould never rise again. But at last they did rise. Then Otter loosed thedead or senseless priest, and at that moment the body of Francisco, castthither by Nam, struck the water beside him and straightway vanished forever. 

Otter loosed his grip, and diving beneath the surface swam hard for thenorth side of the pool, for there he had noticed that the current wasleast strong, and there also the rock bank overhung a little. He reachedit safely, and rising once more grasped a knob of rock with one hand, and lay still where in the shadow and the swirl of waters he could notbe discovered by any watching from above. He breathed deeply and movedhis limbs; it was well, he was unhurt. The priest whom he had taken withhim, being heaviest, had met the water first, so that though the leapwas great the shock had been little. 

"Ha!" said Otter to himself, "thus far my Spirit has been with me, andhere I could lie for hours and never be seen. But there is still theSnake to contend with, " and hastily he seized the weapon that he hadconstructed out of the two knives, and unwound a portion of the cordthat was fast about his middle. Then again he looked across the surfaceof the waters. Some ten fathoms from him, in the exact centre of thewhirlpool, the body of the priest was still visible, for the vortex boreit round and round, but of Francisco there was nothing to be seen. Onlythirty feet above him Otter could see lines of heads bending over therocky edges of the pool and gazing at the priest as he was tossed aboutlike a straw in an eddy. 

"Now, if he is still there and awake, " thought Otter, "surely the fatherof crocodiles will take this bait; therefore I shall do best to be stillawhile and see what happens. "

As he reflected thus a louder shout than any he had heard before reachedhis ears from the multitude in the temple above him, so tumultuous ashout indeed, that for a few moments even the turmoil of the waters waslost in it. 

"Now what chances up there, I wonder?" thought Otter again. Then hisattention was diverted in a somewhat unpleasant fashion. 

This was the cause of that shout: a miracle, or what the People of theMist took to be a miracle, had come about; for suddenly, for the firsttime within the memory of man, the white dawn had changed to red. Blood-red was the snow upon the mountain, and lo! its peaks were turnedto fire. 

For a while all those who witnessed this phenomenon stood aghast, thenthere arose that babel of voices which had reached the ears of Otter ashe lurked under the bank of rock. 

"The gods have been sacrificed unjustly, " yelled the people. "They aretrue gods; see, the dawn is red!"

The situation was curious and most unexpected, but Nam, who had been ahigh priest for more than fifty years, proved himself equal to it. 

"This is a marvel indeed!" he cried, when silence had at length beenrestored; "for no such thing is told of in our history as that a whitedawn upon the mountain should turn to red. Yet, O People of the Mist, those whom we thought gods have not been offered up wrongfully. Nay, this is the meaning of the sign: now are the true gods, Aca and Jal, appeased, because those who dared to usurp their power have gone down todoom. Therefore the curse is lifted from the land and the sunlight hascome back to bless us. "

As he finished speaking, again the tumult broke out, some crying thisthing and some that. But no action was taken, for Nam's excuse was readyand plausible, and the minds of men were confused. So the assembly brokeup in disorder; only the priests and as many more as could find place, Olfan among them, crowded round the edges of the pool to see whathappened in its depths. 

Meanwhile Otter had seen that which caused him to think no more of theshouting above him than of the humming of last year's gnats. Sufferinghis eyes to travel round the circumference of the rocky wall, he sawthe mouth of a circular hole, situated immediately under the base ofthe idol, which may have measured some eight feet in diameter. The loweredge of this hole stood about six inches above the level of the pool, and water ran out of it in a thin stream. Passing down this stream, half swimming and half waddling, appeared that huge and ungainly reptilewhich was the real object of the worship of the People of the Mist. 

Great as were its length and bulk, the dwarf saw it but for a fewmoments, so swift were its movements; then the creature vanished intothe deep waters, to reappear presently by the side of the dead priest, who was now beginning to sink. Its horrible head rose upon the waters ason that night when the woman had been thrown to it; it opened its hugejaws, and, seizing the body of the man across the middle, it disappearedbeneath the foam. Otter watched the mouth of the hole, and not in vain;for before he could have counted ten the monster was crawling throughit, bearing its prey into the cave. 

Now once more the dwarf felt afraid, for the Snake, or rather thecrocodile, at close quarters was far more fearful than anything that hisimagination had portrayed. Keeping his place beneath the ledge, which, except for the coldness of the water, he found himself able to do withlittle fatigue or difficulty, Otter searched the walls of the pool, seeking for some possible avenue of escape, since his ardour forpersonal conflict with this reptile had evaporated. But search as hewould he could find nothing; the walls were full thirty feet high, andsloped inwards, like the sides of an inverted funnel. Wherever the exitsfrom the pool might be, they were invisible; also, notwithstanding hisstrength and skill, Otter did not dare to swim into the furious eddy tolook for them. 

One thing he noticed, indeed: immediately above the entrance to thecrocodile's den, and some twenty feet from the level of the water, twoholes were pierced in the rock, six feet or so apart, each measuringabout twelve inches square. But these holes were not to be reached, andeven if reached they were too small to pass, so Otter thought no more ofthem. 

Now the cold was beginning to nip him, and he felt that if he stayedwhere he was much longer he would become paralyzed by it, for it was fedfrom the ice and snow above. Therefore, it would seem that there was butone thing to do--to face the Water Dweller in his lair. To this, then, Otter made up his mind, albeit with loathing and a doubtful heart. 

CHAPTER XXXII

HOW OTTER FOUGHT THE WATER DWELLER

Keeping himself carefully under the overshadowing edge of the rock-bank, and holding his double-bladed knife ready in one hand, Otter swam to themouth of the Snake's den. As he approached it he perceived by the greatupward force of the water that the real body of the stream enteredthe pool from below, the hole where the crocodile lived being but asupplementary exit, which doubtless the river followed in times offlood. 

Otter reached the mouth of the tunnel without any great difficulty, and, watching his chance, he lifted himself on his hands and slipped throughit quickly, for he did not desire to be seen by those who were gatheredabove. Nor indeed was he seen, for his red head-dress and the goat-skincloak had been washed away or cast off in the pool, and in that lighthis black body made little show against the black rock beneath. 

Now he was inside the hole, and found himself crouching upon a bed ofsand, or rather disintegrated rock, brought down by the waters. Thegloom of the place was great, but the light of the white dawn, which hadturned to red, was gathering swiftly on the surface of the pool withoutas the mist melted, and thence was reflected into the tunnel. So itcame about that very soon Otter, who had the gift, not uncommon amongsavages, of seeing in anything short of absolute darkness, was able tomake out his surroundings with tolerable accuracy. The place in a cornerof which he squatted was a cave of no great height or width, hollowed inthe solid rock by the force of water, as smoothly as though it had beenhewn by the hand of man: in short, an enormous natural drain-pipe, butconstructed of stone instead of earthenware. 

In the bottom of this drain trickled a stream of water nowhere more thansix inches in depth, on either side of which, for ten feet or more, laya thick bed of debris ground small. How far the cave stretched of coursehe could not see, nor as yet could he discover the whereabouts of itshideous occupant, though traces of its presence were plentiful, for thesandy floor was marked with its huge footprints, and the air reeked withan abominable stink. 

"Where has this evil spirit gone to?" thought Otter; "he must be near, and yet I can see nothing of him. Perhaps he lives further up the cave";and he crept a pace or two forward and again peered into the gloom. 

Now he perceived what had hitherto escaped him, namely, that some eightyards from the mouth of the tunnel a table-shaped fragment of stone rosefrom its floor to within six feet of the roof, having on the hither sidea sloping plane that connected its summit with the stream-bed beneath. Doubtless this fragment or boulder, being of some harder material thanthe surrounding rock, had resisted the wear of the rushing river; thetop of it, as was shown by the high-water marks on the sides of thecave, being above the level of the torrent, which, although it was nowrepresented only by a rivulet, evidently at certain seasons of the yearpoured down with great force and volume. 

"Here is a bed on which a crocodile might sleep, " reflected Otter, creeping a little further forward and staring at the mass of rock, andmore especially at a triangular-shaped object that was poised on the topof the sloping plane, and on something which lay beneath it. 

"Now, if that thing be another stone, " thought Otter again, "how comesit that it does not slip into the water as it should do, and what isthat upon which it rests?" and he took a step to one side to prevent hisbody from intercepting any portion of the ray of light that momentarilyshone clearer and pierced the darkness of the cave to a greaterdistance. 

Then he looked again and almost fell in his horror, for now he could seeall. The thing that he had taken for a stone set upon the rock-tablewas the head of the Dweller in the Waters, for there in it, as the lightstruck on them, two dreadful eyes gleamed with a dull and changing fire. Moreover, he discovered what was the object which lay under the throatof the reptile. It was the body of that priest whom Otter had takenwith him in his leap from the statue, for he could see the dead faceprojecting on one side. 

"Perhaps if I wait awhile he will begin to eat him, " reflected thedwarf, remembering the habits of crocodiles, "and then I can attack himwhen he rests and sleeps afterwards"; and, acting on this idea, he stoodstill, watching the green fire as it throbbed and quivered, waxed andwaned in the monster's eyes. 

How long he remained thus Otter never knew; but after a time he becameconscious that these eyes had taken hold of him and were drawing himtowards them, though whether the reptile saw him or not he could nottell. For a space he struggled against this unholy fascination; then, overcome by dread, he strove to fly, back to the pool or anywhere outof reach of those devilish orbs. Alas! it was too late: no step could hemove backwards, no, not to save his life. 

Now he must go on. It was as though the Water Dweller had read his mind, and drew its foe towards itself to put the matter to the test. Ottertook one step forward--rather would he have sprung again off the head ofthe colossus--and the eyes glowed more dreadfully than ever, as thoughin triumph. 

Then in despair he sank to the ground, hiding his face in his hands andgroaning in his heart. 

"This is a devil that I have come to fight, a devil with magic in hiseyes, " he thought. "And how can I, who am but a common Knobnose dwarf, do battle against the king of evil spirits, clothed in the shape of acrocodile?"

Even now, when he could not see them, he felt the eyes drawing him. Yet, as they were no longer visible, his courage and power of mind came backto him sufficiently to enable him to think again. 

"Otter, " he said to himself, "if you stay thus, soon the magic will doits work. Your sense will leave you, and that devil will eat you up as acobra devours a meer-cat. Yes, he will swallow you, and his inside willbe your grave, and that is no end for one who has been called a god!Men, let alone gods, should die fighting, whether it be with othermen, with wild beasts, with snakes, or with devils. Think now, if yourmaster, the Deliverer, saw you crouch thus like a toad before an adder, how he would laugh and say, 'Ho! I thought this man brave. Ho! he talkedvery loud about fighting the Water Dweller, he who came of a line ofwarriors; but now I laugh at him, for I see that he is but a cross-bredcur and a coward. '

"Yes, yes, you can hear his words, Otter. Say now, will you bear theirshame and sit here until you are snapped up and swallowed?"

Thus the dwarf addressed himself, and it seemed to his bewildered brainthat the words which he had imagined were true, and that Leonard reallystood by and mocked him. 

At last he sprang to his feet, and crying, "Never, Baas!" so loudly thatthe cave rang with the echoes of his shout, he rushed straight at thefoe, holding the two-bladed knife in his right hand. 

The crocodile, that was waiting for him to fall insensible, as hadever been the custom of the living victims on whom it fixed its banefulglare, heard his cry and awoke from its seeming torpor. It lifted itshead, fire seemed to flash from its dull eyes, its vast length began tostir. Higher and higher it reared its head, then of a sudden it leapedfrom the slope of rock, as alligators when disturbed leap from a riverbank into the water, coming so heavily to the ground that the shockcaused the cave to tremble, and stood before the dwarf with its tailarched upwards over its back. 

Again Otter shouted, half in rage and half in terror, and the soundseemed to make the brute more furious. 

It opened its huge mouth as though to seize him and waddled a few pacesforward, halting within six feet of him. Now the dwarf's chance hadcome and he knew it, for with the opportunity all his courage and skillreturned to him. It was he who sprang and not the crocodile. He sprang, he thrust his arm and the double knife far into the yawning mouth, andfor a second held it there, one end pointing upwards to the brain andone to the tongue beneath. He felt the jaws close, but their rows ofyellow fangs never touched his arm, for there was that between themwhich held them some little space apart. Then he cast himself on oneside and to the ground, leaving the weapon in the reptile's throat. 

For a few moments it shook its horrible head, while Otter watchedgasping, for the reek of the brute's breath almost overpowered him. Twice it opened its great jaws and spat, and twice it strove to closethem. Oh! what if it should rid itself of the knife, or drive it throughthe soft flesh of the throat? Then he was lost indeed! But this it mightnot do, for the lower blade caught upon the jawbone, and at each effortit drove the sharp point of the upper knife deeper towards its brain. Moreover, so good was the steel, and so firm were the hide bindings ofthe handles, shrunken as they were with the wet, that nothing broke orgave. 

"Now he will trample me or dash me to pieces with his tail, " said Otter;but as yet the Snake had no such mind--indeed, in its agony it seemed tohave forgotten the presence of its foe. It writhed upon the floor of thecave, lashing the rock with its tail, and gasping horribly the while. Then suddenly it started forward past him, and the tough hide rope aboutOtter's middle ran out like the line from the bow of a whale-boat whenthe harpoon has gone home in the quarry. 

Thrice the dwarf spun round violently, then he felt himself dragged ingreat jerks along the rocky floor, which, happily for him, was smooth. A fourth jerk, and once more he was in the waters of the pool, ay, andbeing carried to its remotest depths. 

"Now, he is mad, " thought Otter, "who ties himself to such a fish asthis, for it will drown me ere it dies. "

Had Otter been any other man, doubtless this would have been so. Buthe was as nearly amphibious as a human being can be, and could dive andswim and hold his breath, yes, and see beneath the surface as well asthe animal from which he took his name. Never did such gifts stand theirowner in better stead than during the minutes of this strange duel. 

Twice the tortured reptile sank to the bottom of the pool--and its depthwas great--dragging the dwarf after it, though, as it chanced, betweendives it rose to the surface, giving him time to breathe. A third timeit dived, and Otter must follow it--on this occasion to the mouth of oneof the subterranean exits of the water, into which the dwarf was sucked. Then the brute turned, heading up the pool with the speed of a hookedsalmon, and Otter, who had prayed that the line would break, now prayedthat it might hold, for he knew that even he could never hope to swimagainst that undertow. 

It held, and once more they rose to the surface, where the reptilelay lashing the waters in its pain, blood pouring from its mouth andnostrils. Very glad was Otter to be able to breathe again, for duringthat last rush he had gone near to suffocation. He lifted his head, inhaling the air with great gulps, and saw that the banks of thepool were lined with spectators who shouted and surged in their madexcitement. After that he did not see much more for a while, since justthen it seemed to occur to the crocodile for the first time that the manalongside of him was the cause of his suffering; at least it wallowedround, causing the waters to boil about its horny sides, and chargedhim. With its fangs it could not bite, therefore it struck at him withits tail. 

Twice Otter dived, avoiding the blows, but the third time he was not sosuccessful, for the reptile followed him into the deep water and dealthim a fearful stroke before he could either sink or rise. He felt therough scales cut into his flesh and a sensation as though every bone inhis body was breaking and his eyes were starting from his head. Faintlyand more faintly he struggled, but in vain, for now life and sense wereleaving him together, and everything grew black. 

But suddenly there came a change, and Otter knew vaguely that again hewas being dragged through the water and over rock. Then darkness tookhim, and he remembered no more. 

When the dwarf awoke it was to find himself lying on the floor of thecave, but not alone, for by his side, twisted into a last and hideouscontortion, lay the Snake god--dead! The upper part of the double knifehad worked itself into its brain, and, with a dying effort, it soughtthe den where it had lived for centuries, dragging Otter with it, andthere expired, how or when he knew not. But the dwarf had triumphed. Before him was stretched the ancient terror of the People of the Mist, the symbol and, indeed, the object of their worship, slain by his skilland valour. 

Otter saw, and, bruised and shaken as he was, his heart swelled withpride, for had he not done a deed single-handed such as was not told ofin the stories of his land?

"Oh! that the Baas were here to see this sight!" he said, as he crawledalong the length of his dead enemy, and seated himself upon its flatand loathsome snout. "Alas! he cannot, " he added, "but I pray that mywatching spirit may spare my life, that I may live to sing the song ofthe slaying of the Devil of the People of the Mist. _Wow!_ that was afight. When shall a man see another? And lo! save for many bruises andthe cutting of the rope about my middle, I am not greatly hurt, for thewater broke the weight of his tail when he smote me with it. After all, it is well that the line held, for it served to drag me from the pool asit had dragged me into it, otherwise I had surely drowned there. 

"See, though, it is nearly done with, " and grasping that end of the cordwhich hung from the jaws of the crocodile, he broke it with a jerk, for, with the exception of half a strand, it was frayed through by the wornfangs. 

Then, having rested himself a little, and washed the worst of his hurtswith water, Otter set himself to consider the position. First, however, he made an utterly ineffectual effort to extract the great knives. Ten men could not have moved them, for the upper blade was driven manyinches deep into the bone and muscles of the reptile's massive head. Butfor this chance it would have soon shaken itself clear of them; but, as it was, every contortion and gnashing of its jaws had only served todrive the steel deeper--up to the hilt, indeed. 

Abandoning this attempt, the dwarf crept cautiously to the mouth of thecave and peered at the further banks of the pool, whence he could hearshouts and see men moving to and fro, apparently in a state of greatexcitement. 

"Now I am weary of that pool, " he said to himself, "and if I am seenin it the Great People will surely shoot at me with arrows and kill me. What shall I do, then? I cannot stay in this place of stinks with thedead devil and the bones of those whom he has devoured, until I die ofhunger. Yet this water must come from somewhere, therefore it seems bestthat I should follow it awhile, searching for the spot where it entersthe cave. It will be dark walking, but the walls and the floor aresmooth, so that I shall not hurt myself, and if I find nothing I canreturn again and strive to escape from the pool by night. "

Having decided upon the adventure, Otter began to carry it out withcharacteristic promptness, the more readily, indeed, because his longimmersion the water had chilled him, and he felt a weariness creepingover him as a result of the terrible struggle and emotions that he hadpassed through. 

Coiling the hide ripe about his middle, which was sadly cut by itschafing, he started with an uncertain gait, for he was still very weak. A few steps brought him to that rock on which he had discovered thehead of the reptile, and he paused to examine it. Climbing the slopingstone--no easy task, for it was smooth as ice--he came to the table-liketop. On its edge lay the body of that priest who had shared his fallfrom the head of the colossus. 

Then he inspected the surface of the rock, and for the first timeunderstood how old that monster must have been which he had conqueredin single combat. For there, where its body had lain from generation togeneration, and perhaps from century to century, the hard material wasworn away to the depth of two feet or more, while at the top of thesloping stone was a still deeper niche, wherein its head reposed as itlay keeping its sleepless watch on the waters of the pool. 

Around this depression, and strewn about the floor of the cave itself, were the remains of many victims, a considerable number of whom had notbeen devoured. In every case, however, the larger bones were broken, andfrom this circumstance Otter judged that, although it was the custom ofthis dreadful reptile to crush the life out of all who were thrown to itwith a bite of its fangs, yet, like that of other animals, its appetitewas limited, and it was only occasionally that it consumed what it hadkilled. 

The sight of these remains was so unpleasant and suggestive that evenOtter, who certainly could not be called squeamish, hastened to descendthe rock. As he passed round it his attention was attracted by theskeleton of a man who, from various indications, must have been alivewithin the last few weeks. The bones were clad in a priest's cloak, of which the dwarf, who was trembling with cold, hastened to possesshimself. As he picked up the robe he observed beneath it a bag of tannedox-hide that doubtless had once been carried by the owner of the cloak. 

"Perhaps he kept food in this, " thought Otter; "though what he who cameto visit the Water Dweller should want with food I cannot guess. Atthe least it will be bad by now, so I will leave it and be gone. Only avulture would stay for long in this house of the dead. " Then he startedforward. 

For a few yards more he had light to guide his steps, but very soon thedarkness became complete; still the cave was not difficult to travel, for everywhere the rock was smooth and the water shallow. All that heneeded to do was to walk straight on, keeping touch of one side of thetunnel with one hand. Indeed he had but two things to fear, that heshould fall into some pit and that he might suddenly encounter anothercrocodile, "for doubtless, " thought Otter, "the devil was married. "

But Otter fell into no hole and he saw no crocodile, since, as itchanced, the Water Dweller of the People of the Mist was a bachelor. 

When the dwarf had travelled up a steep slope for rather more than halfan hour, to his intense joy he saw light before him and hurried towardsit. Presently he reached the further mouth of the cavern that was almostclosed by blocks of ice, among which a little water trickled. Creepingthrough an aperture he found himself upon the crest of the impassableprecipice at the back of the city, and that before him a vast glacier ofgreen ice stretched upwards, whereon the sun shone gloriously. 

CHAPTER XXXIII

TRAPPED

It will be remembered that some hours before Otter found himself inthe light of day, after his conquest of the reptile god, Leonard foundhimself in a very difference place, namely, in a secret passage bearingthe senseless form of Juanna in his arms, and being guided by Soa, whither he knew not. 

On they went through various tunnels, of the turnings of which Leonardtried to keep count in his mind, till at length Soa ushered him into arock-hewn cell that evidently had been prepared for their reception, for on one side of it stood a bed covered with skin blankets, and on theother a table provided with the best food that the country could offer. At a sign from Soa he laid Juanna down upon the bed, whereon the womaninstantly threw a blanket over her, so as to hide her face from theeyes of the curious. Then, of a sudden Leonard felt himself seized frombehind, and while his arms were held by two of the priests, a third, under Soa's direction, removed his revolver and hunting knife, whichweapons were carried away. 

"You treacherous hag!" said Leonard to Soa, "be careful lest I killyou. "

"To kill me, Deliverer, would be to kill yourself and another. Thesethings are taken from you because it is not safe that you should havethem; such toys are not for angry children. Stay, " she said to a fourthpriest, "search his pockets. "

The man did as he was ordered, placing everything that Leonard had abouthim, such as his watch, Francisco's notebook and rosary, and the greatruby stone, in a little pile upon the table. Presently he came to thefragment of poison which was wrapped in a square of kid-skin. Soa tookit, and after examination said:

"Why, Deliverer, you have been borrowing medicine that will bring youbad luck if you keep it, " and going to a small aperture in the wall ofthe cell, she threw the tiny packet out of it, and after it a secondpacket which Leonard recognised as having been taken from Juanna's hair. 

"There, now you cannot hurt yourself, " she added in Portuguese. "Let metell you something: so long as you remain quiet all will be well, butif you attempt violence or escape, then you shall be bound and placed byyourself, also you will bring about the death of the Shepherdess yonder. Be warned then by me, White Man, and turn gentle, for remember that myday has come at last and you are in my power. "

"That is very clear, my estimable friend, " answered Leonard, controllinghis wrath as best he might. "But for your sake I hope that the hour willnever come when you shall be in mine, for then I may remember more thanyou wish. I do not in the least understand what you are aiming at, nordo I much care so long as a certain person is protected. "

"Do not fear, Deliverer, she shall be protected. As you know well, Ihate you, and yet I keep you alive because without you she might die;therefore, for her sake be careful. Attempt no violence towards me or myfather if we visit you alone, for we shall do so in order that she maynot be discovered, and the moment that you lift a hand against us willbe the beginning of her doom. And now I must leave you for a while, for something passes in the temple which I desire to see. If she awakesbefore I return, be careful not to frighten her. Farewell!"

Then Soa went taking the priests with her, and the massive timber doorwas closed upon them. 

After he had restored his various belongings to his pockets, therevolver and the knife which had been removed excepted, Leonard turneddown the rug and looked at Juanna, who appeared to be plunged in a deepand happy sleep, for there was a smile upon her face. Next he examinedthe place where they were confined. It had two doors, that by which theyhad entered and a second of equal solidity. The only other opening wasthe slit out of which Soa had dropped the poison. It was shaped like aninverted loophole, the narrow end facing inward. This aperture attractedLeonard's attention, both on account of its unusual form and becauseof the sounds that reached him through it. Of these, the first andmost pervading was a noise of rushing water. Then after a while hedistinguished a roar as of a multitude shouting, that was repeated againand again at intervals. Now he knew where they must be. They were hiddenaway in the rock of the temple, somewhere in the immediate neighbourhoodof the raging pool that lay in front of the colossus, and these soundswhich he heard were the clamour of the people who watched the fate ofOtter and Francisco. 

This conviction was terrible enough, but had he known that, as itentered his mind, the body of his friend the priest was travelling onits last journey within four feet of his eyes, Leonard might have beeneven more prostrated than he was. 

For an hour or more the shouting continued, then followed a silencebroken only by the everlasting murmur of the waters without. 

When Soa departed she had left a fragment of dip made of goat-fatburning upon the floor, but very soon this expired, leaving them indarkness. Now, however, light began to flow into the dungeon through theslit in the rock, and it seemed to Leonard that the character of thislight was clearer than that to which they had been accustomed in thisgloomy land. 

After a while Leonard sat down upon a stool, which he placed close toJuanna's bed, just where the beam of light pierced the shadows, and groaned aloud in the bitterness of his heart. It was over; thepure-hearted martyr, Francisco, was dead, and with him Otter, hisfaithful friend and servant. Except Soa, who had become an activeenemy, at least so far as he was concerned, of all who travelled to thishellish country Juanna and he alone were left alive, and sooner or laterfate must overtake them also. The greatest and last failure of his lifewas about to be consummated, and he would go down into a namelessgrave, there to be lost, having for many years suffered and toiled to nopurpose, pursuing a chimera. 

Juanna still slept heavily under the influence of the drug, and he wasglad of it, for when she woke it must be to a worse misery than anythat had gone before. Partly for something to do, and partly becausethe cravings of nature made themselves felt even through his sorrows, Leonard turned to the table and ate and drank of the viands there, though not without fear that they might be doctored. As the food tookeffect upon him some share of hope and courage entered into his heart, for it is a true saying that a full stomach makes a brave man. After allthey two still breathed and were unharmed in body, nor was it absolutelycertain that they would be called upon to give up the ghost at present. This was much. 

Moreover, he had lived long enough to win the love of the fearlessand beautiful girl who slept beside him, and though perhaps under suchcircumstances love, however true and passionate, ceases to occupy acommanding place in a man's heart, even then he felt that this was more, and that happier days might dawn when it would be, if not everything, atleast most of all. 

As he thought thus, he saw colour creep into Juanna's pale face; thenshe sighed, opened her eyes, and sat up. 

"Where am I?" she said, glancing round wildly. "This is not the bed onwhich I lay down. Oh!" she started, "is it over?"

"Hush, dear, hush! I am with you, " said Leonard, taking her hand. 

"So I see. But where are the others, and what is this dreadful place?Are we buried alive, Leonard? It looks like a tomb. "

"No, we are only prisoners. Come, eat and drink something, and then Iwill tell you the story. "

She rose to obey him, and for the first time her eyes fell upon the robeshe wore. 

"Why, this is Francisco's! Where is Francisco?"

"Eat and drink, " he repeated. 

She did his bidding mechanically, watching his face the while withwondering and frightened eyes. 

"Now, " she said, "tell me. I can bear this no longer. Where areFrancisco and Otter?"

"Alas! Juanna, they are dead, " he answered solemnly. 

"Dead, " she wailed, wringing her hand. "Francisco dead! Why then are westill live?"

"Have courage and listen, Juanna. After you went to sleep in the palace, Soa came to us with a plan which we accepted. "

"What was the plan?" she asked hoarsely. 

Twice he strove to tell her and twice he failed--the words would notcome. 

"Go on. Why do you torment me?"

"It was this, Juanna: that Francisco should be dressed in the robe ofAca, and offered up with Otter in your place, while you were hiddenaway. "

"Has it been done?" she whispered. 

"I believe so, " Leonard replied, bowing his head to his breast. "We areprisoners in a secret cell beneath the feet of the statue. There hasbeen great noise and confusion without, and now for some time silence. "

Then Juanna sprang up and stood over him with flashing eyes. 

"How dared you do this?" she said. "Who gave you leave to do it? Ithought that you were a man, now I see that you are a coward. "

"Juanna, " said Leonard, "it is useless for you to talk like this. Whatever was done was done for your sake, not for that of anybody else. "

"Oh, yes, you say so, but I believe that you made a plot with Soa tomurder Francisco in order that you might save your own life. I have donewith you. I will never speak to you again. "

"You can please yourself about that, " answered Leonard, who by now wasthoroughly enraged, "but I am going to speak to you. Look here, you havesaid words to me for which, were you a man, I would do my best to beavenged upon you. But as you are a woman I can only answer them, andthen wash my hands of you. As you must know, or will know when you cometo your right mind, I would gladly have taken Francisco's place. But itwas impossible, for had I attempted to dress myself up in the robe ofAca, I should instantly have been discovered, and _you_ would have paidthe price of my folly. We all knew this, and after we had consulted, things were arranged as I have told you. I only consented to your beingbrought here on the condition that I was allowed to accompany you foryour protection. Now I wish that I had left it alone and gone withFrancisco, then perhaps I should have found peace instead of bitterwords and reproaches. However, do not be afraid, for I think it probablethat I shall soon follow him. I know that you were very fond of thisman--this hero--and also, either by accident or design, that you hadsucceeded in making him a great deal too fond of you for his peace ofmind; therefore I make excuses for your conduct, which, with all suchdeductions, still remains perfectly intolerable. "

He paused and looked at her as she sat on the edge of the couch, bitingher lip and glancing towards him now and again with a curious expressionon her beautiful face, in which grief, pride, and anger all had theirshare. Yet at that moment Juanna was thinking not of Francisco and hissacrifice, but of the man before her whom she had never loved so wellas now, when he spoke to her thus bitterly, paying her back in her owncoin. 

"I cannot pretend to match you in scolding and violence, " she said, "therefore I will give up argument. Perhaps, however, when _you_ cometo your right mind, you will remember that my life is my own, and that Igave nobody permission to save it at the cost of another person's. "

"What is done, is done, " answered Leonard moodily, for his anger hadburnt out. "Another time I will not interfere without your express wish. By the way, my poor friend asked me to give you these, " and he handedher the rosary and the notebook; "he has written something for you toread on the last sheet of the journal, and he bade me say that, shouldyou live to escape, he hoped that you will wear these in memory of him, "and he touched the beads, "and also that you would not forget him inyour prayers. "

Juanna took the journal, and holding it to the light, opened it athazard. The first thing that she saw was her own name, for in truth itcontained, among many other matters, a record of the priest's unhappyinfatuation from the first moment of their meeting, and also of hispious efforts to overcome it. Turning the pages rapidly she came to thelast on which there was any writing. It ran as follows:

"Senora, of the circumstances under which I write these words you willlearn in due course. The pages of this journal, should you deign tostudy them, will reveal to you my shameful weakness. But if I am apriest I am also a man--who soon shall be neither, but, as I hope, an immortal spirit--and the man in me, following those desires of thespirit that find expression through the flesh, has sinned and loved you. Forgive me this crime, as I trust it will be forgiven elsewhere, thoughmyself I cannot pardon it. Be happy with that noble gentleman who haswon your heart and who himself worships you as you deserve. May you beprotected from all the dangers that now surround you, as I think youwill, and may the blessing of Heaven be with you and about you formany peaceful years, till at length you come to the peace that passethunderstanding! And when from time to time you think of me, may you inyour heart couple my name with certain holy words: 'Greater love hathno man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ' Senora, pardon me and farewell. "

Juanna read this touching and noble-hearted adieu with an ever-growingwonder, and when she had finished it, put down the book crying aloud, "Oh! what have I done to deserve such devotion as this?" Then with astrange and bewildering inconsequence she flung herself into Leonard'sarms, and burying her head upon his breast she began to weep. 

When she was somewhat calmer he also read the letter and closed thebook, saying:

"The world is poorer by a perfect gentleman. He was too good for any ofus, Juanna. "

"I think so, " she answered. 

Just then they heard a sound without the door; it opened, and Namentered accompanied by Soa. 

"Deliverer, " said the aged priest, whose countenance and troubled eyesbore traces of many conflicting emotions, "and you, Shepherdess, I cometo speak with you. As you see, I am alone, except for this woman, butshould you attempt any violence towards her or me, that will be thesignal for your deaths. With much toil and at no little risk to myselfI have spared the life of the Shepherdess, causing the white man, yourcompanion, to be offered up in her place. "

"Has that offering been accomplished?" broke in Leonard, who could notrestrain his anxiety to learn what had happened. 

"I will be frank with you, Deliverer, " answered the high-priest, whenJuanna had translated his question, "since the truth cannot hurt me, fornow we know too much of one another's secrets to waste time in bandyinglies. I know, for instance, that the Shepherdess and the dwarf areno gods, but mortal like ourselves; and you know that I have dared toaffront the true gods by changing the victim whom they had chosen. Thesacrifice has been accomplished, but with so many signs and wonders thatI am bewildered; the People of the Mist are bewildered also, so thatnone know what to think. The white man, your companion, was hurledfainting into the waters when the dawn had broken upon the mountain andwas seen to be grey; but the dwarf, your servant, did not wait to havethat office done for him, for he sprang thither himself, ay, and tookone with him. "

"Bravo, Otter!" cried Leonard; "I knew that you would die hard. "

"Hard did he die indeed, Deliverer, " said Nam with a sigh, "so hard thateven now many swear that he was a god and not a man. Scarcely had theyall vanished into the pool when a wonder chanced such as has notbeen told of in our records: Deliverer, the white dawn turned to red, perchance, as I cried to calm the people, because the false gods had mettheir doom. "

"Then the true ones must be singularly blind, " said Juanna, "seeing thatI, whom you dare to call a false god, am still alive. "

This argument silenced Nam for a moment, but presently he answered. 

"Yes, Shepherdess, you are still alive, " he said, laying a curiousemphasis on the "still. " "And, indeed, " he added hastily, "if you arenot foolish you may long remain so, both of you, for I have no desire toshed your blood who only seek to end my last days in peace. But listento the end of the tale: While the people wondered at the omen of thechanged dawn, it was seen that the dwarf, your servant, was not deadthere in the pool. Yes! this was seen, Deliverer: to and fro in thetroubled waters rushed the great Water Dweller, and after him, keepingpace with him, went that dwarf who was named Otter. Ay, round and roundand down to the lowest depths, though how it could be that a man mightswim with the Snake none can say. "

"Oh, bravo, Otter!" said Leonard again, bethinking him of an explanationof the mystery which he did not reveal to Nam. "Well, what was the endof it?"

"That none know for certain, Deliverer, " answered the priestperplexedly. "At last the Water Dweller, from whose mouth poured blood, was seen to sink with the dwarf; then he rose again and entered thecave, his home. But whether the dwarf entered with him, or no, I cannotsay, for some swear one thing and some another, and in the foam andshadow it was hard to see; moreover, none will venture there to learnthe truth. "

"Well, dead or alive, he made a good fight for it, " said Leonard. "Andnow, Nam, what is your business with us?"

This question appeared to puzzle the priest a little, for, to speaktruth, he did not care to disclose the exact nature of his business, which was to separate Leonard from Juanna, without force if possible. 

"I came here, Deliverer, " he answered, "to tell you what had happened. "

"Exactly, " said Leonard, "to tell me that you have murdered my bestfriend, and one who was but lately your god. I thank you for your news, Nam, and now, if I might make bold to ask it, what are your plans withreference to ourselves--I mean until it suits you to send us after ourcompanions?"

"Believe me, Deliverer, my plan is to save your lives. If the othershave been sacrificed it was no fault of mine, for there are forcesbehind me that I cannot control even when I guide them. The land is inconfusion and full of strange rumours. I know not what may happen duringthe next few days, but till they are over you must lie hid. This is apoor place in which to dwell, but there is none other safe and secret. Still, here is another chamber which you can use; perchance you havealready seen it, " and placing his hand upon what appeared to be alatch, he opened the second door which Leonard had noticed previously, revealing a cell of very similar construction to that in which theywere, and of somewhat larger size. 

"See, Deliverer, " he went on, "here is the place, " and he steppedforward to enter the cell, then drew back as though in courtesy to allowLeonard to pass in before him. 

For once Leonard's caution forsook him, for at the moment he wasthinking of other things. Almost mechanically he passed the threshold. Scarcely were his feet over it when he remembered the character of hishost and the lodging, and turned quickly to come back. 

It was too late, for even as he turned the heavy timber door closed inhis face with a crash, and he was caged. 

CHAPTER XXXIV

NAM'S LAST ARGUMENT

For a moment Juanna stood stupefied; for the manoeuvre had been sosudden that at first she could scarcely realise its results. 

"Now, Shepherdess, " began Nam blandly, "we can talk in private, for Ihave words to say to you which it is not fitting that other ears shouldhear. "

"You fiend, " she answered fiercely; then comprehending that violence orremonstrance would be useless, she added, "Speak on, I hear you. "

"Listen, Shepherdess, and for your own sake I implore you, do not giveway to grief or rage. I swear to you that no harm shall come to yonderman if you will but do my bidding. Shepherdess, you are found out; Iknow, and the people know, that you are no goddess. It had been safer tosacrifice you to-day, but partly because of the pleading of my daughterwho loves you, and partly for other reasons, I have caused you to besaved alive. Now, Shepherdess, from this country there is no escape; asyou have chosen to come hither, here you must remain for life, and inthis cell you cannot live and die. Therefore, for my daughter's sakeI have cast about for a means to deliver you from bonds and to set youhigh in the land, ay, almost at its head, " and he paused. 

"Perhaps you will come to the point, " said Juanna, who was tremblingwith fear and anger. 

"It is this, Shepherdess, " Nam answered bowing; "although you aredethroned as a goddess, you may still shine as a queen and rule over usas the wife of our king. "

"Indeed, " replied Juanna, turning suddenly cold; "and how shall I, whoam held to be dead, appear again as a woman wedded to your king? Surelythe people would find that strange, Nam?"

"No, Shepherdess, for I have prepared a tale which shall explain thewonder, and already its rumour runs from mouth to mouth. It will be saidthat you were a goddess and therefore immortal, but that for the sake oflove you have put off your godhead and put on the flesh, that you mightdwell for some years with him whom you desire. "

"Indeed, " said Juanna again. "And what if I refuse to consent to thisscheme, which, as I think, can have come only from a woman's brain?" andshe pointed to Soa. 

"You are right, Shepherdess, " answered Soa, "the plan is mine; I madeit to save you, and also, " she added coolly, "to be revenged upon thatwhite thief who loves you, for he shall live to see you the wife ofanother man, a wild man. "

"And have you never thought, Soa, that I may have wishes of my own inthis matter?"

"Doubtless, yet the fairest women cannot always have what they maychance to wish. Know, Shepherdess, that this must be both for your ownsake and for the sake of Nam, my father. Olfan loves you, and in thesetroubled times it is necessary that Nam and the priests should gain hissupport, which has been bought but now by the promise that you willbe given to him in marriage on this very day. For you, Shepherdess, although you might have wished to wed one of your own race, at the leastyou will rule a queen, and that is better than to perish miserably. "

"I think otherwise, Soa, " Juanna answered calmly, for she saw thatneither passion nor pleading would help her, "and of the two I choose todie, " and she put her hand to her hair, then started, for she found thepoison gone. 

"You will choose to die, Shepherdess, " said Soa with a cold smile, "butthis is not always so easy. I have taken your medicine from you whileyou slept, and here there are no other means to compass death. "

"I can starve, Soa, " replied Juanna with dignity. 

"That takes some time, Shepherdess, and to-day you will become the wifeof Olfan. Still it is needful that you should yourself consent to marryhim, for this chief is so foolish that he declares that he will not wedyou till you have accepted him with your own mouth and in the presenceof witnesses. "

"Then I fear that the wedding will not be celebrated, " said Juannawith a bitter laugh, for she could not refrain from giving some outwardexpression to all the loathing which she felt for this wicked woman, whoin her fierce love would save the life of her mistress by selling her toshame. 

"I think that it will, Shepherdess, " answered Soa, "for it seems thatwe have a way by which we can win you to speak those words which Olfandesires to hear. "

"There is no way, Soa. "

"What, none, Shepherdess? Think now: he whom you name Deliverer is aprisoner beyond that door. What if his life hangs upon your choice?What if he were shown to you about to die a fearful death from which youalone could save him by speaking a certain word?"

Now for the first time Juanna fully understood the hideous nature of theplot whereby Soa purposed either to force her to become the wife of asavage, or to thrust upon her the guilt of causing the death of the manwhom she loved, and she sank back upon the couch, saying:

"You would have done better to leave me yonder in the slave camp, Soa. "

Then, abandoning the tone of forced calm in which she had spokenhitherto, Soa broke out bitterly:

"When you were in the slave camp, Shepherdess, you loved me who haveloved you from a child, for then no white dog had come to sow mischiefbetween us and to make you hate and distrust me. Then I would have diedfor you, ay, and this I would do now. But also I would be revenged uponthe white dog, for I, who am husbandless and childless, had but this onething, and he has taken it from me. You were to me as mother, and lover, and babe are to other women--my all, and now I am left desolate, andI will be revenged upon him before I die. But I still love you, Shepherdess, and could any other plan have been found to help you, Icould not have forced this marriage on you. No such plan can be found;thus alone can you live and become great and happy; and thus alone can Icontinue to feast my eyes upon you, though it be from far. "

She ceased, trembling with the strength of the passions that shook her, to which indeed her words had given but feeble expression. 

"Go, " said Juanna, "I would have time to think. "

Then Nam spoke again. 

"We go, Shepherdess, in obedience to your wish, but before evening weshall return to hear your answer. Do not attempt to work mischief uponyourself, for know that you will be watched though you cannot see theeyes that watch you. If you do but so much as lift a hand against yourlife, or even strive to cut off the light that flows through yonderhole, then at once you will be seized and bound, and my daughter will beset to guard you. Shepherdess, farewell. "

And they went, leaving Juanna alone and a prey to such thoughts as canscarcely be written. 

For several hours she sat there upon the couch, allowing no hint of whatshe felt to appear upon her face, for she was too proud to suffer theeyes which she knew were spying on her, though whence she could nottell, to read her secret anguish. 

As she sat thus in her desolation several things grew clear to Juanna, and the first of them was that Soa must be mad. The love and hate thatseethed in her fierce heart had tainted her brain, making her morerelentless than a leopard robbed of its young. From the beginning shehad detested Leonard and been jealous of him, and incautiously enough hehad always shown his dislike and distrust of her. By slow degrees thesefeelings had hardened into insanity, and to gratify the vile promptingsof her disordered mind she would hesitate at nothing. 

From Soa, therefore, she could hope for no relenting. Nor had shebetter prospect with Nam, for it was evident that in his case politicalconsiderations operated as strongly as did those of a personal characterwith his daughter. He was so much involved, he had committed himself sodeeply in this matter of the false gods, that, rightly or wrongly, heconceived Soa's plan to offer the only feasible chance of escape fromthe religious complications by which he was surrounded, that threatenedto bring his life and power to a simultaneous end. 

It was out of the question, therefore, to expect help from thehigh-priest, who was in the position of a man on a runaway horse withprecipices on either side of him, unless, indeed, she could show himsome safer path. Failing this, it would avail her nothing that he hatedand feared Olfan, and only promoted this marriage in order to bribe theking into standing his friend during the expected political convulsions. Indeed, as she guessed rightly, Nam would much better like to know hersafely over the borders of the Mist-land than to be called upon to greether as its queen. This was obvious, seeing that should she return topower, religious or temporal, it was scarcely to be hoped that she wouldforget the wrongs which she had suffered at his hands. The marriage wasmerely a temporary expedient designed to ward off immediate evil, butshould it come about and the crisis be tided over, it was plain thatthe struggle between the false goddess and the perjured priest must becarried on until it ended in the death of one or both of them. However, all these things lay in the future as Nam foretold it, a future whichJuanna never meant to live to see. 

There remained Leonard and Olfan. The former, of course, was powerless, at least for the present, having suffered himself to be entrapped, though his lack of caution mattered little, for doubtless if guilehad failed, force would have been employed. It was she who must saveLeonard, for he could do nothing to save her. 

The more Juanna thought of the matter, the more she became convincedthat her only hope lay in Olfan himself, who had sworn friendship toher, and who certainly was no traitor. She remembered that in theirconversation of the day before he had admitted that she could be nothingto him while Leonard lived. Probably Nam had told her that the Delivererwas dead, and then it was, actuated by his passion which she knew tobe genuine enough, that he had entered into a bargain with the priest. These must be the terms of the compact, that the game of the false godsbeing played, Olfan undertook to support Nam and the rest of his partyto the best of his power, for the consideration to be received of herhand in marriage, stipulating, however, that she should give it of herown free will. 

This of course she would never do; therefore Olfan's proviso gave hera loophole of escape, though Juanna was well aware that it would notbe wise to rely too implicitly on the generosity of the savage chief inmatters upon which savages are apt to be neither generous nor delicate. On this she must fall back as a last resource, or rather as a lastresource but one. Meanwhile, she would fight Nam and Soa step by step, yielding only when she saw that further obstinacy on her part wouldinvolve Leonard's destruction. It was possible, indeed it was probable, that everything might fail her, and in that event she must not failherself; in other words, although the poison had been taken from her, she must find a means of death. 

Having thought these problems out so far as it was in her power todo, Juanna rose and began to walk up and down the cell, noting itsconstruction and peculiarities. Doubtless Leonard was behind yonderdoor, but it was so thick that she could hear nothing of his movements. For the rest, it seemed clear that escape was impossible. Excepting thedoors, the shaft in the rock was the only other opening that she wasable to see, but through this no child could pass, and if he might itwould be to fall into the pool of raging water. 

Had Otter lived through the fight with the snake god, she wondered?There was small chance of it, but at least he had made an end worthy ofhis reputation, and she felt proud of him. And the other--Francisco. Ofhim also she was proud indeed, but for herself she was ashamed, for sheknew that she had been to blame, though not designedly. Who would haveguessed that this frail timid man could prove himself such a hero, orwho could estimate the power of the unsought and unhappy love whichenabled him to conquer the fear of death?

She had been wrong to be angry with Leonard, for she knew well that, ifit could have been so, he would gladly have given his own life for hers. Alas! it seemed that she was always wrong, for her temper was quick andthe tongue is an unruly member. They had both of them been ready to diefor her, and one of them had done so; well, now it was probable that thetables would be turned before many hours were over, and that she wouldbe called upon to offer herself to save her lover. If this came about, she would not forget the example of Francisco, but would rather try toequal it in the heroism of her end. 

The day passed slowly, and at length the gloom gathering in the littlecell told her that night was near. Before it fell, however, Soa and Namentered, bearing candles, which they fixed upon brackets in the walls. 

"We come, Shepherdess, to hear your answer, " said Nam. "Will you consentto take Olfan for a husband, or will you not?"

"I will not consent. "

"Think again, Shepherdess. "

"I have thought. You have my answer. "

At the words Nam seized her arm, saying, "Come hither, Shepherdess; Iwould show you something, " and he led her to that door in passing whichLeonard had been entrapped. At the same time Soa extinguished one of thecandles, and taking the other in her hand she left the cell, bolting thedoor behind her, so that Nam and Juanna stood in darkness. 

"Shepherdess, " said Nam sternly, "you are about to see him whom youname the Deliverer. Now remember this, if you cry out or speak above awhisper--he dies. "

Juanna made no answer, although she felt her heart grow faint withinher. Five minutes or more passed, and of a sudden a panel slid back inthe upper part of the door which connected the two cells, so that Juannacould see through it, although those who stood on the further side couldnot see her, for they were in light and she was in darkness. 

And this was what she saw: Ranged against the wall of the second prison, and opposite to her, were three priests holding candles in their hands, whereof the light shone upon their sullen, cruel faces, and the snake'shead tattooed on their naked breasts. In front of these men stood twoother priests, and between them was Leonard bound and gagged. 

On the hither side of the cell, and not more than two feet from the openpanel, stood Soa, on whom the eyes of the executioners were fixed, asthough awaiting a command. Between Soa and these men yawned an open holein the rock floor. 

When Juanna had gazed upon this scene for some twenty seconds thesliding panel was closed, apparently by Soa, and Nam spoke:

"You have seen, Shepherdess, " he said, "that the Deliverer is bound, andyou have seen also that before him is a hole in the floor of the prison. He who falls down that hole, Shepherdess, finds himself in the den ofthe Snake beneath, from the visiting of whom no man has ever returnedalive, for it is through it that we feed the Water-dweller at certainseasons of the year, and when there is no sacrifice. Now, Shepherdess, you must choose between two things; either to wed Olfan of your own freewill this night, or to see the Deliverer thrown to the Snake before youreyes, and afterwards to wed Olfan whether you will it or not. What doyou say, Shepherdess?"

Juanna took counsel with herself, and came to the conclusion that shewould resist a little longer, for she thought that this scene might havebeen planned merely to try her fortitude. 

"I refuse to marry Olfan, " she answered. 

Then Nam opened the panel and whispered a word into the ear of Soa, whouttered a command. Instantly the two executioner priests flung Leonardon to his back upon the ground, an easy task seeing that his legs werefastened with ropes, and dragged him forward until his head hung overthe oubliette-like hole. Then they paused as though waiting for somefurther order. Nam drew Juanna some few paces away from the door. 

"What is your word now, Shepherdess?" he said. "Is the man to die or besaved? Speak swiftly. "

Juanna glanced through the opening and saw that now Leonard's head andshoulders had vanished down the oubliette, while one of the priests heldhim by the ankles, watching Soa for the sign to let him fall. 

"Loose him, " said Juanna faintly. "I will marry Olfan. "

Stepping forward, Nam whispered to Soa, who issued another order. Thereupon the priests drew Leonard from his perilous position, and, unwillingly enough, rolled him to the side of the cell, for they wouldhave preferred to be rid of him. At that moment also the shutter wasclosed. 

"I said _loose him_, " repeated Juanna; "now the man lies unable to movelike a fallen tree, on the ground. "

"No, Shepherdess, " replied Nam; "perchance you may yet change your mind, and then it would be troublesome to bind him afresh, for he is verystrong and violent. Listen, Shepherdess; when Olfan comes presently toask your hand, you must say nothing of that man yonder, for he deemshim to be dead, and the moment you speak of him he will be dead. Do youunderstand?"

"I understand, " answered Juanna, "but at least the gag might be takenfrom his mouth. "

"Fear not, Shepherdess, it shall be done--when you have spoken withOlfan. And now, at what hour will it be your pleasure to see him?"

"When you will. The sooner it is finished the better. "

"Good. My daughter, " he added to Soa, who just then entered the cell, "be pleased to make fire, and then summon the king Olfan, who waitswithout. "

Soa departed upon her errand, and, overcome with terror which she wouldnot show, Juanna sank upon the couch, hiding her face in her hands. Fora while there was silence, then the door opened again and, heralded bySoa, Olfan, the king, stood before her. 

"Be careful, Shepherdess, " whispered Nam as they entered; "one word--andthe Deliverer dies. "

CHAPTER XXXV

BE NOBLE OR BE BASE

For a while there was silence, then Juanna looked up, searching Olfan'sface with her eyes. Nothing was to be read there, for it was impossibleto pierce the mask of solemn calm beneath which, in common with allhis race, the king was accustomed to hide his thoughts. He leant on theshaft of his broad spear, his head bowed slightly as though in humility, his dark eyes fixed upon her face, immovable, impassive, a picture ofsavage dignity. 

Indeed, Juanna was fain to confess to herself that she had never seen agrander specimen of the natural man than that presented by the chief ofthe People of the Mist, as he stood before her in her rock prison. Thelight of the candles fell full upon him, revealing his great girth andstature, beside which those of the finest men of her own race wouldhave seemed insignificant. It shone upon the ivory torques, emblems ofroyalty, which were about his neck, wrists, and ankles, upon the glossygarments of black goat-skin that hung from his shoulders and middle, andthe raven tresses of his hair bound back from his forehead by a narrowband of white linen, which showed in striking contrast against the clearolive colouring of his face and breast. 

"Speak, Olfan, " said Juanna at length. 

"It was told to me, Queen, " he answered in a low, full voice, "that youhad words to say to me. Nevertheless, now as always, I obey you. Queen, I learn that your husband, he whom you loved, is dead, and believe me, Isorrow for you. In this shameful deed I had no hand; that, together withthe end of the other white man and the dwarf, must be set down to theaccount of this priest, who swears that he was driven to it by theclamour of the people. Queen, they have all gone across the mountainsand through the sky beyond, and you, like some weary dove, far travelledfrom a southern clime, are left a prey among the eagles of the People ofthe Mist. 

"But a few hours since I thought you dead also, for with all thethousands in the temple I believed that it was your fair body which Namhurled at dawn from the brow of the statue, and I tell you that when Isaw it, I, who am a warrior, wept and cursed myself, because, althoughI was a king, I had no power to save you. Afterwards this man, the highpriest, came to me, telling me the truth and a plan that he had made forhis own ends, whereby you might be saved alive and lifted up among thepeople, and he also might be saved, and my rule be made sure in theland. " And he ceased. 

"What is this plan, Olfan?" asked Juanna, after a pause. 

"Queen, it is that you should wed me, and appear before the people nolonger as a goddess, but as a woman who has put on the flesh forher love's sake. I know well that I am all unworthy of such honour, moreover, that your heart must be sore with the loss of one who wasdear to you, and little set upon the finding of another husband; alsoI remember certain words that passed between us and a promise which Imade. All these things I told to Nam, and he answered me saying thatthe matter was urgent, that here you could not be hid away for long, andthat if I did not take you to wife then you must die. Therefore, becausemy love towards you is great, I said to him, 'Go now and ask her if shewill smile upon me if I come before her with such words. '

"Nam went, but before he went he made certain agreements with me onmatters of policy, under which I must pay a heavy price for you, Lady, and forego revenge and forget many an ancient hate, all of which thingsI have promised to do should you smile upon me, so great is my lovetowards you. The hours went by, and Nam came back to me, saying that, having weighed the matter in your mind, your answer was favourable. Tothis I replied that I did not trust him, and would take it from yourlips alone. 

"And now, Queen, I am here to listen to your word, and to offer myselfto you, to serve you all my life as your husband and your slave. I havelittle to give you who have been bred up in sunnier lands, and among amore gentle people; I who am but the wild chief of men whose hearts arerugged as our mountains, and gloomy as a winter's day that is heavy withsnow to come, --only myself, the service of my soldiers' spears, and thefirst place among the Children of the Mist. 

"Now let me hear your answer, and be it what it may, I will accept itwithout a murmur, for least of all things do I desire to force myselfupon you in marriage. Still I pray you, speak to me plainly once and forall, for if I must lose you I would know the worst; nor can I bear, whenyou have smiled upon me, to see you turn away. Nay, I would sooner die. "

And once more he bowed his head, leaned upon his spear, and was silent. 

Juanna considered the position rapidly. It was hopeless and cruel. Namand Soa were on either side of her, the latter standing near the doorwith the sliding panel beyond which Leonard lay bound, and she knew wellthat did she speak a single word of the truth to Olfan, it would be thesignal for her lover's death. It was possible that the king might beable to protect her own person from violence, but if Leonard died itmattered little what became of her. There was but one thing that shecould do--declare herself willing to become the wife of Olfan. Yet itseemed shameless thus to treat this honourable man, the only friendthat they had found among the People of the Mist. But of a truth, such necessities as hers cannot wait while those in their toils weighscruples or the law of honour. 

"Olfan, " she said, "I have heard you, and this is my answer: I will takeyou as my husband. You know my story, you know that he who was my lordis but this day dead, " here Soa smiled approvingly at the lie, "and thatI loved him. Therefore of your gentleness, you will accord me some fewweeks before I pass from him to you, in which I may mourn my widowhood. I will say no more, but surely you can guess the sorrow of my heart, andall that I have left unsaid. "

"It shall be as you wish, Queen, " replied Olfan, taking her hand andkissing it, while his sombre face grew radiant with happiness. "Youshall pass into my keeping at that time which best pleases you, yet Ifear that in one matter you must be troubled now, this very hour. "

"What may that be, Olfan?" asked Juanna anxiously. 

"Only this, Queen, that the rite of marriage as we practise it must becelebrated between us. It is necessary for many reasons which will bemade clear to you to-morrow. Moreover, such was my bargain with Namsealed by an oath sworn upon the blood of Aca, an oath that I do notdare to break. "

"Oh, no, no!" said Juanna in acute distress. "Think, Olfan, how can I, whose husband is not six hours dead, vow myself to another man upon thealtar of his grave? Give me some few days, I pray you. "

"Most willingly would I do this, Lady, but I may not, it is against myoath. Also, what can it matter? You shall remain alone for so long as itshall please you. "

Then Nam spoke for the first time, saying:

"Shepherdess, waste no breath in words, for learn that though thisgarment of modesty is becoming to one new widowed, yet you must put itfrom you. More depends upon this ceremony than you know of, the livesof many hang upon it, our own, perchance, among them, and especially thelife of one of whom it does not become me to speak, " and as though byaccident Nam let his eyes rest upon the door of the adjoining cell. 

Of his auditors Olfan thought that he was alluding to his own life, but Juanna and his daughter knew well that he spoke of that of Leonard, which would be sacrificed did the former persist in her objections tothe instant celebration of the marriage. 

"You hear his words, Queen, " said Olfan, "and there is weight in them. The times are very dangerous, and if our plot is to be carried through, before midnight I must make oath to the captains and the Council of theElders that you have come back from death to be my wife. "

"Maybe, " answered Juanna, catching at a straw in her despair, "butmust I, who shall be set over this people as queen, be married thus insecret? At the least I will have witnesses. Let some of the captainswhom you trust, Olfan, be brought here to see us wed, otherwise the timemay come when I shall be held to be no true wife, and there are none toestablish my honour by their words. "

"There is little fear of such a thing, Queen, " answered Olfan witha faint smile, "yet your demands are just. I will bring three of mycaptains here, men who will not betray us, and they shall be witness tothis rite, " and he turned as though he would go to seek them. 

"Do not leave me, " said Juanna, catching him by the wrist. "I trust you, but these two I do not trust. I fear to be left alone. "

"There is no need for witnesses, " exclaimed Nam in a threatening voice. 

"The Shepherdess has asked for witnesses, and she shall have them, "answered Olfan fiercely. "Old man, you have played with me long enough;hitherto I have been your servant, now I will be your master. Some hoursago your life was forfeit to me, for the white dawn had turned tored, and I meant to take it, but you bribed me with this bait, " andhe pointed to Juanna. "Nay, do not lay your hand upon your knife; youforget I have my spear. Your priests are without, I know it, but so aremy captains, and I have told them where I am; if I vanish as many vanishhere, my life will be required at your hands, for, Nam, your power isbroken. 

"Now, obey me. Bid that woman summon him who guards without. No, youdo not stir, " and he lifted the spear till its keen blue point quiveredover the high priest's naked breast. "Bid her go to the door and summonthe guard. I said to the door, but not beyond it, or beware!"

Nam was cowed: his tool had become his master. 

"Obey, " he said to Soa. 

"Obey, but no more, " echoed Olfan. 

Snarling like a wolf, the woman slipped past them to the door, andopening it a little way, she whistled through the crack. 

"Hide yourself, Lady, " said Olfan. 

Juanna retreated into the shadow behind the candle, and at that moment avoice spoke through the open door, saying, "I am here, father. "

"Now, speak, " said Olfan, advancing the spear an inch nearer Nam'sheart. 

"My son, " said the priest, "go to the entrance by which the kingentered, where you will find three captains, generals of the king. Leadthem hither. "

"And see that you speak to no one on the way, " whispered Olfan in Nam'sear. 

"And see that you speak to no one on the way, " repeated Nam. 

"I hear you, father, " replied the priest, and went. 

Some ten minutes passed and the door opened again. "The captains arehere, " whispered a voice. 

"Let them enter, " said Nam. 

The order was obeyed, and three great men armed with spears stalked intothe narrow chamber. One of them was brother to the king, and the twoothers were his chosen friends. Then the door closed. 

"My brethren, " said Olfan, "I have sent for you to acquaint you with amystery and to ask you to witness a rite. The goddess Aca, who this daywas hurled into the pool of the Snake, has returned to earth as a woman, and is about to become my wife, "--here the captains started--"nay, brethren, ask no questions; these things are so, it is enough. Now, priest, play your part. "

After that, for a while all seemed a dream to Juanna, a dream of whichshe was never able to recover any exact memory. She could recollectstanding side by side with Olfan, while Nam muttered prayers andinvocations over them, administering to them terrible oaths, which theytook, calling upon the names of Aca and of Jal, and swearing by thesymbol of the Snake. Beyond that everything went blank. Indeed, her mindflew back to another marriage ceremony, when she stood beside Leonard inthe slave camp, and the priest, Francisco, prayed over them and blessedthem. It was that scene which she saw, and not the one enactingbefore her eyes, and with its visions were mixed up strange impersonalreflections on the irony of fate, which had brought it about that sheshould figure as the chief actor in two such dramas, the first of whichLeonard had gone through to save her, and the second of which she mustgo through to save him. 

At last it was done, and once more Olfan was bowing before her andkissing her hand. 

"Greeting, Shepherdess. Hail! Queen of the People of the Mist, " he said, and the captains repeated his words. 

Juanna awoke from her stupor. What was to be done now? she wondered. What could be done? Everything seemed lost. Then of a sudden aninspiration took her. 

"It is true that I am a queen, is it not, Olfan?"

"It is true, Lady. "

"And as Queen of the People of the Mist I have power, have I not, Olfan. "

"Even to life and death, " he answered gravely; "though if you kill, youmust answer to the Council of the Elders and to me. All in this land areyour servants, Lady, and none dare to disobey you except on matters ofreligion. "

"Good, " said Juanna. Then addressing the captains in a tone of command, she added, "Seize that priest who is named Nam, and the woman with him. "

Olfan looked astonished and the captains hesitated. As for Nam, he didnot hesitate, but made a bound towards the door. 

"Stay awhile, Nam, " said the king, making a barrier before him withhis spear; "doubtless the Queen has reasons, and you would wish to hearthem. Hold them, my captains, since the Queen commands it. "

Then the three men sprang upon them. Once Nam tried to draw his knife, but failing in his attempt he submitted without further struggle. WithSoa it was different. She bit and tore like a wild-cat, and Juanna sawthat she was striving to reach the panel and to speak through it. 

"On your lives do not suffer her to come to that door, " she said;"presently you shall know why. "

Then the brother of the king dragged Soa to the couch, and throwing herdown upon it stood over her, his spear-point at her throat. 

"Now, Queen, " said Olfan, "your will is done, and perhaps it may pleaseyou to explain. "

"Listen, King, and listen, you, captains, " she answered. "These liarstold you that the Deliverer was dead, was it not so? He is not dead, helies bound in yonder cell, but had I spoken a word to you, then he wouldhave died. Olfan, do you know how my consent was won to be your wife?A shutter within that door was opened, and he, my husband, was shown tome, gagged and bound, and being held over the mouth of a hideous pit inthe floor of his prison, that leads I know not whither. 

"'Consent, or he dies, ' they said, and for my love's sake I consented. This was the plot, Olfan: to marry me to you, partly because the womanyonder, who was my nurse, did not desire my death, and partly that Nammight use me to save himself from the anger of the people. But do notthink that you would have kept me long, Olfan; for this was in the plotalso, that when you had served their purpose you should die by secretmeans, as one who knew too much. "

"It is a lie, " said Nam. 

"Silence!" answered Juanna. "Let that door be opened, and you shall seeif I have lied. "

"Wait awhile, Queen, " said Olfan, who appeared utterly overcome. "If Iunderstand you right, your husband lives, and therefore you say thatthe words which we have spoken and the oaths that we have sworn meannothing, for you are not my wife. "

"That is so, Olfan. "

"Then now I am minded to turn wicked and let him die, " said the kingslowly, "for know this, Lady, I cannot give you up. "

Juanna grew pale as death, understanding that this man's passions, nowthat once he had given them way, had passed beyond his control. 

"I cannot give you up, " he repeated. "Have I not dealt well with you?Did I not say to you, 'Consent or refuse, as it shall please you, buthaving once consented you must not go back upon your words'? What haveI to do with the reasons that prompted them? My heart heard them andbelieved them. Queen, you are wed to me; those oaths that you have swornmay not be broken. It is too late; now you are mine, nor can I sufferyou to pass from me back to another man, even though he was your husbandbefore me. "

"But the Deliverer! must I then become my husband's murderer?"

"Nay, I will protect him, and, if it may be, find means to send him fromthe land. "

Juanna stood silent and despairing, and at this moment Soa, lying on thecouch, broke into a shrill and mocking laugh that stung her like a whipand roused her from her lethargy. 

"King, " she said, "I am at your mercy, not through any wanton folly ofmy own, but because fate has made a sport of me. King, you have beenhardly used, and, as you say, hitherto you have dealt well with me. NowI pray you let the end be as the beginning was, so that I may alwaysthink of you as the noblest among men, except one who died this day tosave me. King, you say you love me; tell me then if my life hung upon aword of yours, would that word remain unspoken?

"Such was my case: I spoke the word and for one short hour I betrayedyou. Will you, whose heart is great, bind me by such an oath as this, anoath wrung from me to save my darling from the power of those dogs? Ifthis is so, then I have erred strangely in my reading of your mind, fortill now I have held you to be a man who would perish ere he fell so lowas to force a helpless woman to be his wife, one whose crime is that shedeceived him to save her husband. "

She paused, and, clasping her hands as though in prayer, looked up intohis troubled face with beseeching eyes; then, as he did not speak, shewent on:

"King, I have one more word to say. You are the strongest and you cantake me, but you cannot hold me, for that hour would be my last, and youbut the richer by your broken honour and a dead bride. "

Olfan was about to answer when Soa, fearing lest Juanna's pleadingshould prevail against his passion, broke in saying, "Be not fooled, King, by a woman's pretty speeches, or by her idle threats that she willkill herself. She will not kill herself, I know her well, she loves herlife too much; and soon, when you are wed, she will love you also, forit is the nature of us women to worship those who master us. Moreover, that man, the Deliverer, is not her husband, except in name; for monthsI have lived with them and I know it. Take her, King, take her now, this hour, or live to mourn her loss and your own folly all your life'sdays. "

"I will not answer that slave's falsehoods, " said Juanna, drawingherself up and speaking proudly, "and it were more worthy of you notto listen to them, King. I have spoken; now do your will. Be great orlittle, be noble or be base, as your nature teaches you. "

And suddenly she sank to the ground and, shaking her long hair about herface and arms, she burst into bitter weeping. 

Twice the King glanced at her, then he turned his head as though he darelook no more, and spoke keeping his eyes fixed upon the wall. 

"Rise, Queen, " he said hoarsely, "and cease your tears, since you aresafe from me. Now as always I live to do your will, but I pray you, hideyour face from me as much as may be, for, Lady, my heart is broken withlove for you and I cannot bear to look on that which I have lost. "

Still sobbing, but filled with admiration and wonder that a savage couldbe thus generous, Juanna rose and began to murmur thanks, while thecaptains stared, and Soa mocked and cursed them both. 

"Thank me not, " he said gently. "It seems that you, who can read allhearts, have read mine aright, or perchance you fashioned it as youwould have it be. Now, having done with love, let us to war. Woman, whatis the secret of that door?"

"Find it for yourself, " snarled Soa. "It is easy to open when once youknow the spring--like a woman's heart, Olfan. Or if you cannot find it, then it can be forced--like a woman's love, Olfan. Surely you who areso skilled in the winning of a bride need not seek my counsel as to theopening of a door, for when I gave it but now upon the first of thesematters, you would not hearken, Olfan, but were melted by the sight oftears that you should have kissed away. "

Juanna heard and from that moment made up her mind that whateverhappened she had done with Soa. Nor was this wonderful, for few womencould have pardoned what she had suffered at her hands. 

"Drive the spear into her till she speaks, comrade, " said Olfan. 

Then at the touch of steel Soa gave up mocking and told the secret ofthe door. 

CHAPTER XXXVI

HOW OTTER CAME BACK

After he had rested awhile at the bottom of the glacier, Otter set towork to explore the cliff on the top of which he found himself, withthe view of descending it and hiding at its foot till nightfall, whenhe hoped to find means of re-entering the city and putting himself incommunication with Olfan. Very soon, however, he discovered that ifhe was to return at all, he must follow the same route by which he hadcome. 

Evidently the tunnel sloped upwards very sharply, for he was standing onthe brow of a precipice cut into three steps, which, taken together, mayhave measured some three hundred feet in height, and, so far as he couldsee, it was utterly impossible to descend any of these cliffs withoutthe aid of ropes. Nor could he continue his investigations over a widearea, for about four hundred paces to the left of the opening to thesubterranean passage--whereof, by the way, he was very careful to notethe exact position--the mountain pushed out a snowy shoulder, withdeclivities so precipitous that he dared not trust himself on them. 

Then he tried the right-hand side, but with no better luck, for herehe was stopped by a yawning rift in the rock. Now Otter sat down andconsidered the situation. 

The day was still young, and he knew that it would be foolish to attemptescape from the pool before dark. In front of him the mountain rosesteeply till, so far as he could judge, it reached a pass which lay sometwo miles off, at the base of that main peak, on whose snows the priestshad watched the breaking of the dawn. Part of this declivity was coveredwith blocks of green ice, but here and there appeared patches of earth, on which grew stunted trees, shrubs, and even grass and flowers. Beingvery hungry, it occurred to Otter that he might find edible roots amongthis scanty vegetation. 

With this hope he began to climb the slope, to be rewarded in due courseby the discovery of a vegetable that he recognised, for it was the samewhich had been offered to him on the occasion of his unlucky outbreakthat had resulted in the casting away of the rubies. 

With this poor food the dwarf filled himself, and having found a boughthat made him an excellent staff, he continued his climb, desiring tosee what there might be on the other side of the neck. 

Arriving there without any great difficulty, Otter stood astonished, although he was not much given to the study of scenery. Below him laythe City of the Mist, with its shining belt of rivers that, fed from theinexhaustible mountain snows, meandered across the vast plains--now nolonger hidden in mist--which they had trodden on their journey. Abovehis head the mighty peak towered thousands of feet into the air, till itended in a summit shaped like a human finger pointing eternally to theheavens. Before him the scene was even stranger, made up as it was ofsnowy fields broken by ridges of black rock, and laid one beneath theother like white sails drying upon the slopes of a sandhill. 

Gradually, as the eye travelled downward, these snow-fields grew fewerand fewer, till at last they vanished altogether, and their place wastaken, first by stretches of grass-land, and finally, at the foot ofthe mountain, by what seemed to be a rich and level country interspersedwith clumps of bush and forest trees. 

The first of these patches of snow lay within five furlongs of where thedwarf stood, but several hundred feet below him. 

Between the neck of the pass and this snow stretched a mighty rift orchasm, with sides so sheer that no goat could have kept a footing onthem. Yet this gulf was not without its bridge, for a rock wall rosefrom the bottom of the chasm, forming the bed of a glacier which spannedit from side to side. In some places the wall was comparatively leveland in others it showed descents sharp as those of a waterfall. Thisremarkable bridge of ice--that varied from a hundred paces to afew yards in width--was bordered on either side by the most fearfulprecipices; while, just where its fall was sheerest and its widthnarrowest, it seemed to spring across a space of nothingness, like thearch of a bridge thrown from bank to bank of a river. Indeed, at thispoint its line became so attenuated that in the glittering sunlightOtter was doubtful whether it was not broken through for a distance ofsome yards. 

Being of an inquiring mind, the dwarf decided to satisfy himself uponthe matter. All around him lay slabs of rock, some of which were wornperfectly smooth and to the thinness of a tombstone, by centuriesof polishing in the iron jaws of glaciers. Selecting one of these ofconvenient size, Otter approached the edge of the bridge, pushing thestone before him over the frozen snow. Here the ice was perfect, exceptfor a slight hoar-frost that covered it, for the action of the windprevented the snow from gathering on the bridge, and whenever the sunwas strong enough to melt its surface, it froze again at night, so thatno slide upon a parish pond could have been more slippery or free frominequalities. 

Otter gave his stone a push, and away it went, sometimes swiftly andsometimes at a trifling speed, according to the nature of the angle downwhich it passed, leaving a bright green ribbon upon the ice in its wake, whence it swept the hoar-frost as it sped. Once or twice he thought thatit was going to stop, but it never did stop. At length it approached thesteepest and narrowest part of the descent, down which the stone rushedwith fearful velocity. 

"Now I shall see whether the bridge is broken, " thought Otter; and justthen the rock, travelling like an arrow, came to that portion ofthe glacier where, for a width difficult to estimate, it stretchedunsupported over space, and measured only some few feet across. On itflew, then seemed to leap into the air, and once more sped forwardtill it reached the further slope of snow, up which it travelled for adistance, and stopped, appearing, even to Otter's keen sight, no largerthan a midge upon a table-cloth. 

"Now, if a man had been seated on that stone he might have passed thisbridge in safety, " said Otter to himself; "yet it is one that few wouldcare to travel, unless sure death were behind them. "

Then he determined on a second trial, and selecting another and somewhatlighter stone, he sent it upon its journey. It followed precisely thesame course as its predecessor, but when it came to the knife-blade ofthe bridge it vanished. 

"I am sorry for that stone, " thought Otter, "for doubtless it, that hasbeen whole for many years, is at this moment only little pieces. "

A third time he repeated his experiment, choosing the heaviest rock thathe could move. This messenger also leaped into the air at the narrowestportion of the bridge, then passed on in safety to the slope of snowbeyond. 

"A strange place, " thought Otter; "and I pray that it may never be mylot to ride one of those stone horses. "

Then he turned down the mountain again, for the afternoon was advancing. When he reached the entrance to the river-bed sunset was at hand. For awhile he sat watching the fading light and eating some more roots whichhe had gathered. Now he crawled into the passage and commenced hisdarksome journey towards the home of the dead Water Dweller, though whathe was to do when he got there he did not know. No accident befell him, and in due course he arrived safely in the den, his journey being muchfacilitated by the staff he bore, which enabled him to feel his way likea blind man. 

Creeping to the edge of the pool he listened to its turmoil, for theshadows were gathering so fast that, with some ghostlike shapes of foamexcepted, he could not even see the surface of the water. 

"If I go in there how can I get out again?" Otter thought sadly. "Afterall, perhaps I should have done better to return while it was stilllight, for then, by the help of my staff and the rope, I might have madeshift to climb the overhanging ledge of rock, but to try this now weremadness. I will go back and sit in the cave with the ghosts of the godand his dead till the morning comes again, though I do not crave theircompany. "

So he retreated a few paces and sat in silence near the tail of the deadCrocodile. After a while loneliness took hold of him; he tried to sleepand could not, for it seemed to Otter that he saw eyes staring at himfrom the depths of the cave, and heard dead men whispering to each othertales of their dreadful ends. Moment by moment his fears grew uponhim, for Otter was very superstitious. Now he fancied that he coulddistinguish the head of the reptile limned in fire and resting on theedge of the rock as he had seen it that morning. 

"Doubtless, " he thought, "this monster is a devil and has come to lifeagain to be revenged upon me. _Wow!_ I liked him better when he was inthe flesh than now that he has turned himself to fire. " Then to comforthimself he began to talk aloud saying:

"Otter, unlucky that you are, why did you not die at once instead ofliving on to be tormented by ghosts? Perhaps your master, the Baas, whomalone you love, is dead already and waits for you to come to serve him. You are very tired; say now, Otter, would it not be well if you tookthat rope which is about your middle and hanged yourself? Thus you toowould become a ghost and be able to do battle with them in their ownfashion, " and he groaned loudly. 

Then of a sudden he grew fearful indeed, the short wool stood up uponhis head, his teeth chattered, and, as he said afterwards, his very noseseemed to grow cold with terror. For as he sat he heard, or seemed tohear, a voice speaking to him from the air, and that voice his master's. 

"_Otter_, _Otter_, " said the voice. 

He made no answer, he was too frightened. 

"Otter, is that you?" whispered the voice again. 

Then he spoke. "Yes, Baas, it is I. I know that you are dead and callme. Give me one minute till I can undo my rope, and I will kill myselfand come to you. "

"Thank you, Otter, " said the voice with a ghastly attempt at a laugh, "but if it is all the same, I would much rather that you came alive. "

"Yes, Baas, and I too would rather stop alive, but being alive how can Ijoin you who are dead?"

"You fool, I am not dead, " said Leonard. 

"Then, Baas, how is it that you speak out of the air? Come near to methat I may touch you and be comforted. "

"I cannot, Otter; I am bound and in a prison above you. There is a holein the floor, and if you have a rope, as I heard you say, perhaps youcould climb up to me. "

Now the dwarf began to understand. Rising, he stretched the long staffhe had brought with him high above his head, and found to his delightthat he could touch the roof of the cave. Presently the point of thestaff ceased to press upon the rock. 

"Is the place here, Baas?" said Otter. 

"It is here, but you must throw the stick up like a spear through thehole, for I am tied, and cannot put out my hand to take it. "

"Stay awhile, Baas; first I must make the line fast to it. "

"Good, but be swift, for I am in danger. "

Hurriedly Otter undid the hide rope from about his middle, knotting itsecurely to the centre of the stick. Then some five feet below the stickhe made a loop large enough for a man to place his foot in, and havingascertained the exact situation of the opening in the roof of the cave, he hurled the staff upwards and jerked at the line. 

"It is fixed, " whispered Leonard from above. "Now come up if you can. "

The dwarf required no second invitation. Seizing the rope as high ashe could reach above his head, he began to drag himself up hand overhand--no easy task, for the hide cord was thin, and cut his fingers andhis right leg, round which he had twisted it to get a better purchase. Presently, however, he succeeded in setting his foot in the loop he hadprepared, when he found that his head and shoulders were in the hole, and that by reaching upwards he could grasp the staff which lay acrossit. The rest was easy, and within half a minute he lay gasping at hismaster's side. 

"Have you a knife, Otter?"

"Yes, Baas, my small one, the big ones are down there; I will tell youthat story by and by. "

"Never mind the story now, Otter. My hands are tied behind my back. Feelfor the lashings and cut them, then give me the knife that I may free mylegs. "

Otter obeyed, and presently Leonard rose and stretched himself with asigh of relief. 

"Where is the Shepherdess, Baas?"

"There, in the next cell. They separated me from her, and since then Ihave been dangled by the legs over that hole bound and gagged, I thinkin order to persuade her to consent to something or other by the sightof my danger, for doubtless she was placed where she could see all. Thenthey left me, and I managed to spit out the gag, but I could not undothe cords. I expect that they will soon be back again. "

"Then had we not better fly, Baas? I have found a passage that leads tothe mountains. "

"How can we fly and leave the Shepherdess, Otter? Since I have been helddown the hole, only two men have visited me from time to time, for theythink me helpless. Let us seize these men when they come in and taketheir knives, for we are unarmed. Then we can think; also we shall havetheir keys. "

"Yes, Baas, we may do that. You take the staff; it is stout. "

"And what will you use?" asked Leonard. 

"Fear not, Baas. Do these men bear lights?"

"Yes. "

"Then in two minutes I will make me a weapon. "

And, untying the hide rope from the stick, he began to fumble with itbusily. 

"Now I am ready, Baas, " he said presently. "Where shall we stand?"

"Here, " answered Leonard, leading him to the door. "We will crouch inthe shadow, one on either side of this door, and when the priests haveentered and closed it, and begin to look round for me, then we canspring upon them. Only, Otter, there must be no bungling and no noise. "

"I think that there will be none, Baas; they will be too frightened tocry at first, and after that they will become dumb. "

"Otter, " whispered Leonard, as they stood in the dark, "did you kill theWater-Dweller?"

"Yes, yes, Baas, " he chuckled in answer. "I caught him with the hookthat I made ready. But he did not die easily, Baas, and if I had notbeen able to swim well he would have drowned me. "

"I heard something of it from Nam, " said Leonard. "You are a wonderfulfellow, Otter. "

"Oh, Baas! it was no valour of mine; when I saw his eyes I was horriblyafraid, only I thought how gladly you would have attacked him had youbeen there, and what a coward you would hold me, could you have seenme shivering like a little girl before a big lizard, and these thoughtsgave me courage. "

"Oh, that is all very well!" replied Leonard, and suddenly added, "Hush!be ready!"

As he spoke the door opened, and two great priests came through it, oneof them bearing a candle. He who bore the light turned to shut the door, for he suspected nothing. Then, at one and the same instant, Leonard, emerging from the shadow, dealt the first priest a blow upon the headwith his staff, which stunned if it did not kill him, for he felllike an ox beneath the pole-axe, while Otter, standing where he was, dexterously cast his hide rope about the throat of the second man, anddrew the noose tight with a jerk that brought him to the earth. 

In twenty seconds it was all over. The men, who were the same that hadheld Leonard suspended in the oubliette, lay senseless or dead, andthe dwarf and his master were engaged in possessing themselves of theirknives and keys by the light of the candle, which, though it had fallento the ground, fortunately remained burning. 

"That was well done, Otter, " said Leonard, "and I am not ashamed to havedone it, for these devils kicked me when I was bound. Now we are armed, and have the keys. What next?"

Just then Otter sprang to his feet, crying, "Look out, Baas; here aremore. "

Leonard glanced up to see, and behold! the second door in the cell wasopened, and through it came Juanna, Olfan, Nam, Soa, and three othermen. 

For a moment there was silence; till one of the captains cried out, "See! Jal the god has come back, and already he claims his victims!" Andhe pointed to the two priests. 

Then followed a scene of confusion, for even Olfan and Nam were amazedat what seemed to them little short of a miracle, while Leonard andJuanna had eyes for each other only, and the three captains stared atOtter like men who think they see a ghost. 

But one person in that company kept her head, and that person was Soa. The captain who guarded her had loosed his hold; silently she slunk backinto the shadows, and, unseen of any, vanished through the doorway bywhich she had been led in. A minute passed, and Otter, thinking that heheard a noise without that door of the cell whereby the two priests hadentered, which had been left ajar, went to it and tried to open it. Justthen, also, Olfan missed Soa. 

"Where is the woman, Nam's daughter?" he cried. 

"It seems that she has escaped and shut us in, King, " answered Otter, calmly. 

Followed by the others, Olfan sprang first to the door of the cell wherethey were, and then through the connecting passage to that of Juanna'sprison. It was true, both were closed. 

"It matters nothing, here are the keys, " said Leonard. 

"They will not avail us, Deliverer, " answered Olfan, "for these doorsare made fast without by bars of stone thicker than my arm. Now thiswoman has gone to rouse the college of the priests, who will presentlycome to kill us like caged rats. "

"Quick!" said Leonard, "waste no time, we must break down the doors. "

"Yes, Deliverer, " said Nam mockingly; "batter them in with your fists, cut through the stone-work with your spears; surely they are as nothingto your strength!"

CHAPTER XXXVII

"I AM REPAID, QUEEN"

Their position was terrible. Soa had escaped, and Soa knew everything. Moreover, she was mad with hatred and longing for revenge on Leonard, Otter, and in a less degree on Olfan the king. Had they succeeded inrevealing themselves to the people, all might have gone well, for Otterand Juanna would certainly have been accepted as true gods, who hadpassed and repassed the gates of death scatheless. But now the affairwas different. Soa would tell the truth to the priests, who, even ifthey were inclined to desert her father in his extremity, must strikefor their own sakes and for that of their order, which was the mostpowerful among the People of the Mist, and had no desire to be placedunder the yoke of secular authority. 

It was clear to all of them that if they could not escape, theymust fall very shortly into the hands of the priests, who, knowingeverything, would not dare to allow them to appeal to the army, or tothe superstition of the outside public. The only good card they held wasthe possession of the person of Nam, though it remained to be seen howfar this would help them. 

To begin with, there are always some ready to step into the shoes of ahigh priest, also Nam had blundered so extensively in the matter ofthe false gods, that the greater part of the fraternity, whom he hadinvolved in his mistakes, would not sorrow to see the last of him. 

These facts, which were perfectly well known to Olfan and guessed at byhis companions, sharpened their sense of the danger in which they hadbeen placed by Soa's resource and cunning. Indeed, their escape wasa matter of life and death to them and to many hundreds of theiradherents. If once they could reach the temple and proclaim there-arisen gods to the people, all would go well, for the army wouldsuffice to keep the priests from using violence. But if they failed inthis, their death-warrant was already signed, for none of them wouldever be heard of again. 

No wonder, then, that they hurled themselves despairingly upon thestubborn doors. For an hour or more they laboured, but all in vain. Themassive timbers of hard wood, six inches or more in thickness, couldscarcely be touched by their knives and spears, nor might their unitedstrength serve even to stir the stone bolts and bars that held themfast, and they had nothing that could be used as a battering-ram. 

"It is useless, " said Leonard at last, throwing down his knife indespair; "this wood is like iron, it would take us a week to cut throughit. "

"Why not try fire, Baas?" suggested Otter. 

Accordingly they attempted to burn down the doors, with the resultthat they nearly stifled themselves in the smoke and made but littleimpression upon the woodwork. 

At length they gave up the experiment--it was a failure--and sat lookingblankly at each other as they listened to certain sounds which reachedthem from the passages without, telling them that their enemies weregathering there. 

"Has anyone a suggestion to make?" said Leonard at last. "If not, Ithink that this game is about played. "

"Baas, " answered Otter, "I have a word to say. We can all go downthrough that hole by which I came up to you. The Water-Dweller is dead, I slew him with my own hand, so there is nothing to fear from him. Beneath the hole runs a tunnel, and that tunnel leads to the slope ofthe mountain above. At the top of this slope is an ice-bridge by whichmen may reach a fair country if they have a mind to. "

"Then for heaven's sake let us cross it, " put in Juanna. 

"I have seen that bridge, " said Olfan, while the captains staredwonderingly at the man whose might had prevailed against the ancientSnake, "but never yet have I heard of the traveller who dared to set hisfoot upon it. "

"It is dangerous, but it can be crossed, " replied Otter; "at theleast, it is better to try it than to stay here to be murdered by themedicine-men. "

"I think that we will go, Leonard, " said Juanna; "if I am to die I wishto do so in the open air. Only what is to become of Nam? And perhapsOlfan and the captains would prefer to stop here?"

"Nam will go with us wherever we go, " answered Leonard grimly; "wehave a long score to settle with that gentleman. As for Olfan and hiscaptains, they must please themselves. "

"What will do you, Olfan?" asked Juanna, speaking to him for the firsttime since the scene in the other prison. 

"It seems, Queen, " he answered, with downcast eyes, "that I have swornto defend you to the last, and this I will do the more readily becausenow my life is of little value. As for my brethren here, I think, likeyou, that they will choose to die in the open, rather than wait to bemurdered by the priests. "

The three captains nodded an assent to his words. Then they all set towork. 

First they took food and drink, of which there was an ample supply inthe other cell, and hurriedly swallowing some of it, disposed the restabout their persons as best they could, for they foresaw that even ifthey succeeded in escaping, it was likely that they would go hungry formany days. Then Leonard wrapped Juanna in a goat-skin cloak which hetook from one of the fallen priests, placing the second cloak overhis own shoulders, for he knew that it would be bitterly cold on themountains. Lastly, they tied Nam's arms behind him and deprived him ofhis knife, so that the old man might work none of them a sudden injuryin his rage. 

All being prepared, Otter made his rope fast to the staff and descendedrapidly to the cave below. As his feet touched the ground, the priestsbegan to batter upon the doors of the cell with beams of wood, or somesuch heavy instruments. 

"Quick, Juanna!" said Leonard, "sit in this noose and hold the line, wewill let you down. Hurry, those doors cannot stand for long. "

Another minute and she was beside Otter, who stood beneath, a candle inhis hand. Then Leonard came down. 

"By the way, Otter, " he said, "have you seen anything of the jewels thatare supposed to be here?"

"There is a bag yonder by the Water-Dweller's bed, Baas, " answered thedwarf carelessly, "but I did not trouble to look into it. What is theuse of the red stones to us now?"

"None, but they may be of use afterwards, if we get away. "

"Yes, Baas, _if_ we get away, " answered Otter, bethinking himself of theice-bridge. "Well, we can pick it up as we go along. "

Just then Nam arrived, having been let down by Olfan and the captains, and stood glaring round him, not without awe, for neither he nor any ofhis brethren had ever dared to visit the sacred home of the Snake-god. Then the captains descended, and last of all came Olfan. 

"We have little time to spare, Deliverer, " said the king; "the door isfalling, " and as he spoke they heard a great crash above. Otter jerkedfuriously at the rope, till by good luck one end of the stake slid overthe edge of the hole and it fell among them. 

"No need to leave this line for them to follow by, " he said; "besidesit may be useful. " At that moment something appeared looking throughthe hole. It was the head of one of the pursuing priests. Nam saw it andtook his opportunity. 

"The false gods escape by the tunnel to the mountains, " he screamed, "and with them the false king. Follow and fear not, the Water-Dweller isdead. Think not of me, Nam, but slay them. "

With an exclamation Otter struck him heavily across the mouth, knockinghim backwards, but the mischief was done, for a voice cried in answer:

"We hear you, father, and will find ropes and follow. "

Then they started. One moment they paused to look at the huge bulk ofthe dead crocodile. 

"This dwarf is a god in truth, " cried one of the captains, "for no mancould have wrought such a deed. "

"Forward, " said Leonard, "we have no time to lose. "

Now they were by the crocodile's bed and among the broken bones of hisvictims. 

"The bag, Otter, where is the bag?" asked Leonard. 

"Here, Baas, " answered the dwarf, dragging it from the moulderingskeleton of the unlucky priest who, having offended the new-found god, had been let down through the hole to lay it in its hiding-place and toperish in the jaws of the Water-Dweller. 

Leonard took the bag, and opening its mouth, which was drawn tight witha running strip of hide, he peeped into it while Otter held down thecandle that he might see. From its depths came a glimmer of red and bluelight that glowed like the heart of some dull fire. 

"It is the treasure, " he said, in a low tone of exultation. "At last theluck has turned. "

"How much does it weigh?" said Juanna, as they sped onwards. 

"Some seven or eight pounds, I should say, " he answered, stillexultantly. "Seven or eight solid pounds of gems, the finest in theworld. "

"Then give it to me, " she said; "I have nothing else to carry. You mayhave to use both your hands presently. "

"True, " he answered, and passed the string of the bag over her head. 

Now they went on up the smooth sloping bed of the stream, sufferinglittle inconvenience, except from the cold of the water that flowedabout their ankles. 

"The stream has risen a little, Baas, since I passed it this morning, "said Otter. "Doubtless this day's sun has melted some snow at itssource. To-morrow we might not have been able to travel this road. "

"Very likely, " answered Leonard. "I told you that our luck had turned atlast. "

Twenty minutes more and they reached the mouth of the tunnel, andpassing between the blocks of ice, found themselves upon the mountainside. But, as it chanced, the face of the moon was hidden by clouds, which is often the case in this country at the beginning of the springseason, for whereas in winter the days are almost invariably misty andthe nights clear, in spring and summer these atmospheric conditions arefrequently reversed. So dark was it indeed, that it proved impossible toattempt the ascent of the mountain until the day broke, since to doso would be to run the risk of losing themselves, and very possibly ofbreaking their necks among its numerous clefts and precipices. 

After a minute's hasty discussion they set to work to fill up the mouthof the tunnel, or rather the cracks between the blocks of ice thatalready encumbered it, with such material as lay to hand, namely lumpsof frozen snow, gravel, and a few large stones which they were fortunateenough to find in the immediate vicinity, for the darkness renderedit impossible to search for these at a distance. While they were thusengaged they heard the voices of priests speaking on the further sideof their somewhat inefficient barrier, and worked harder than ever, thinking that the moment of attack had come. 

To their astonishment, however, the sound of talking died away. 

"Now where have they gone?" said Leonard--"to climb the cliff by anotherpath and cut us off?"

"I think not, Deliverer, " answered Olfan, "for I know of no such path. I think that they have gone to bring heavy beams by means of which theywill batter down the ice wall. "

"Still there is such a path, King, " said one of the captains, "forI myself have often climbed it when I was young, searching forsnow-flowers to bring to her whom I courted in those days. "

"Can you find it now, friend?" asked Olfan eagerly. 

"I do not forget a road that I have trod, " said the captain, "but it isone not easy to follow. "

"See now, Shepherdess, " said Olfan after thinking awhile, "shall we takethis man for a guide and return down the cliff to the city, for there, unless fate is against us, we may find friends among the soldiers andfight out this battle with the priests. "

"No, no, " answered Juanna almost passionately, "I would rather die thango back to that dreadful place to be murdered at last. Do you go if youwill, Olfan, and leave us to take our chance. "

"That I cannot do, Queen, for I am sworn to a certain service, " he saidproudly. "But hearken, my friend; follow this path of which you speak, if you can do so in the darkness, and find help. Then return swiftly tothis spot where I and your two comrades will hold the priests at bay. Perchance you will not find us living, but this I charge you, if we aredead give it out that the gods have left the land because they were soevilly dealt with, and rouse up the people to fall upon the priestsand make an end of them once and for ever, for thus only shall they winpeace and safety. "

Making no reply, the man shook Olfan and the other two captains by thehand, saluted Juanna, and vanished into the darkness. Then they all satdown in front of the mouth of the tunnel to wait and watch, and veryglad were they of the goat-skin cloaks which had belonged to thepriests, for as the night drew towards the dawn, the cold became sobitter that they could scarcely bear it, but were obliged to rise andstamp to and fro to keep their wet feet from freezing. 

"Leonard, " said Juanna, "you do not know what passed after Nam trappedyou, " and she told him all the tale. 

When she had finished he rose and, taking Olfan by the hand, said:"King, I thank you. May fortune deal as well with you as you have dealtby me and mine!"

"Say no more, Deliverer, " answered Olfan hastily; "I have but done myduty and fulfilled my oath, though at times the path of duty is hard fora man to follow. " And he looked towards Juanna and sighed. 

Leonard sat down and was silent, but many a time both then and inafter-days did he wonder at the nobleness of mind of this savage king, which enabled him, under circumstances so cruel, to conquer his ownpassion and show himself willing to lay down life and throne together, that he might carry out his vow to protect the woman who had brought himso much pain and now left him for ever with his successful rival. 

At length, looking at the mountain peak above them, they saw its snowsbegin to blush red with the coming of the dawn, and just then also theyheard many voices talking within the tunnel, and caught glimpses oflights flashing through the openings in their rude fortifications. Thepriests, who no doubt had been delayed by the procuring of the timberswhich were to serve as battering-rams, and the labour necessary to dragthem up the steep incline of the tunnel, had returned, and in force. Afew more minutes and a succession of dull thuds on the further side ofthe ice wall told the little band of defenders that their enemies wereat work. 

"The light grows quickly, Deliverer, " said Olfan quietly; "I think thatnow you may begin to ascend the mountain and take no harm. "

"What shall we do with this man?" asked Leonard, pointing to Nam. 

"Kill him, " said Otter. 

"No, not yet awhile, " answered Olfan. "Take this, " and he handed Leonardthe spear of the third captain, who had left it when he started down themountain, fearing that it might encumber him, "and drive him along withyou at its point. Should we be overpowered, you may buy your lives asthe price of his. But should we hold them back and you escape, then dowith him what you will. "

"I know well what I would do, " muttered Otter, glowering at the priest. 

"And now, farewell, " went on Olfan in the same calm voice. "Bring moreice, comrades, or stone if you can see any; the wall cracks. "

Leonard and Otter wrung the king's hand in silence, but Juanna couldnot leave him thus, for her heart was melted at the thought of all hisgoodness. 

"Forgive me, " she murmured, "that I have brought you grief, and, as Ifear, death to follow grief. "

"The grief you could not help, Queen, and be sure I shall welcome deathif he should choose me. Go now, and happiness go with you. May youescape in safety with the bright pebbles which you desire! May you andyour husband, the Deliverer, be blessed for many years in each other'slove, and when you grow old together, from time to time think kindly ofthat wild man, who worshipped you while you were young and laid down hislife to save you. "

Juanna listened, and tears sprang to her eyes; then of a sudden sheseized the great man's hand and kissed it. 

"I am repaid, Queen, " he said, "and perchance your husband will not bejealous. Now go, and swiftly. "

As he spoke a small portion of the wall fell outwards and the fierceface of a priest appeared at the opening. With a shout Olfan lifted hisbroad spear and thrust. The priest fell backwards, and just then thecaptains arrived with stones and stopped the hole. 

Then the three turned and fled up the mountain side, Otter driving Nambefore him with blows and curses, till at length the old man fell andlay on his face groaning. Nor could the dwarf's blows, which were not ofthe softest, force him to rise. 

"Get up, you treacherous dog, " said Leonard, threatening him with thespear. 

"Then you must loose my arms, Deliverer, " answered the priest; "I amvery weak, and I cannot travel up this mountain with my hands boundbehind me. Surely you have nothing to fear from one aged and unarmedman. "

"Not much at present, I suppose, " muttered Leonard, "though we have hadenough to fear from you in the past. " And taking his knife he cut loosethe lashings. 

While he did so, Juanna turned and looked behind her. Far below themshe could see the forms of Olfan and his companions standing shoulderto shoulder, and even catch the gleams of light reflected from theirspears, for now the sun was rising. Beneath them again she saw thegrass-grown roofs of that earthly hell, the City of the People of theMist, and the endless plain beyond through which the river wandered likea silver serpent. There also was the further portion of the huge wall ofthe temple built by unknown hands in forgotten years, and risingabove the edge of that gap in the cliff through which she was looking, appeared a black mass which she knew to be the head and shoulders of thehideous colossus, on whose dizzy brow she had sat in that strange hourwhen the shouting thousands thundered a welcome to her as their goddess, and whence her most beloved friend, Francisco, had been hurled to hiscruel death. 

"Oh, what I have suffered in that place!" she thought to herself. "Howhave I lived through it, I wonder? And yet I have won something, " andshe glanced at Leonard who was driving Nam towards her, "and if onlywe survive and I am the means of enabling him to fulfil his vow andbuy back his home with these jewels, I shall not regret all that I haveendured to win them. Yes, even when he is no longer so very much inlove, he must always be grateful to me, for few women will have done asmuch for their husbands. "

Then Nam staggered past her, hissing curses, while the untiring Otterrained blows upon his back, and losing sight of Olfan and his companionsthey went on in safety, till they reached the neck and saw theice-bridge glittering before them and the wide fields of snow beyond. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE TRIUMPH OF NAM

"Which way are we to go now?" said Juanna; "must we climb down thisgreat gulf?"

"No, Shepherdess, " answered Otter; "see, before you is a bridge, " and hepointed to the band of ice and rock which traversed the wide ravine. 

"A bridge?" gasped Juanna, "why it is as slippery as a slide and steepas the side of a house. A fly could not keep its footing on it. "

"Look here, Otter, " put in Leonard, "either you are joking or you aremad. How can we cross that place? We should be dashed to pieces beforewe had gone ten yards. "

"Thus, Baas: we must sit each of us on one of the flat stones that lieround here, then the stone will take us across of itself. I know, for Ihave tried it. "

"Do you mean to tell me that you have been over there on a rock?"

"No, Baas, but I have sent three stones over. Two crossed safely, Iwatched them go the whole way, and one vanished in the middle. I thinkthat there is a hole there, but we must risk that. If the stone is heavyenough it will jump it, if not, then we shall go down the hole and be nomore troubled. "

"Great heavens!" said Leonard, wiping his forehead with the back of hishand, "this is practical tobogganing with a vengeance. Is there no otherway?"

"I can see none, Baas, except for the birds, and I think that we hadbetter stop talking and make ready, for the priests are still behind us. If you will watch on the neck here so that we are not surprised, I willseek stones to carry us. "

"How about this man?" said Leonard, pointing to Nam, who lay facedownwards on the snow, apparently in a dead faint. 

"Oh! we must keep him a while, Baas; he may be useful if those priestscome. If not, I will talk with him before we start. He is asleep andcannot run away. "

Then Leonard went to the top of the neck, which was distant some twentyyards, and Otter began to search for stones suitable to his purpose. 

As for Juanna, she turned her back to the ice-bridge, at which shescarcely dared to look, and sat herself upon a rock. In doing so thejewels in the bag struck against her knee and jingled, and the thoughtcame into her mind that she would examine them while she waited, partlybecause she desired to distract her thoughts from the vision of this newand terrible ordeal which lay before her, and partly to gratify a notunnatural curiosity. 

Opening the mouth of the bag, she thrust her fingers into it, and one byone drew out the biggest gems which were jumbled together there, placingthem on the rock beside her. In less than a minute she was feastingher eyes upon such a collection of priceless jewels as had never beforegladdened the sight of any white woman, even in her wildest dreams;indeed, till now Juanna had not thought it possible that stones sosplendid could exist on the hither side of the walls of heaven. 

First there were great sapphires roughly squared, and two enormousround star rubies: these had formed the eyes of the colossus, which wereremoved on the morrow of their arrival, the star rubies representing theblood-red pupils. Then there was a heart-shaped ruby of perfect colourand without flaw, almost as large as a jackdaw's egg, which on the daysof sacrifice had adorned the breasts of the chief priests of the Peopleof the Mist for many generations. Next came the greatest wonders ofthis treasure, two marvellous stones, one a sapphire and one a ruby, fashioned respectively into models of the statue of the Dwarf and of thehideous shape of the Water-Dweller. Then there were others--dozensof them--some rudely cut and polished, and some as they came from theearth, but every one of them singled out for its remarkable size andflawlessness, or its perfect fire and beauty. 

Juanna arranged them in rows and stared at them with ecstasy--where isthe woman who would not have done so?--till in contemplating them sheeven forgot the present terrors of her position--forgot everythingexcept the gorgeous loveliness and infinite value of the wealth of gems, which she had been the means of winning for Leonard. 

Among other things that passed from her mind at this moment was thepresence of Nam, who, overcome by rage and exhaustion, lay in a seemingfaint upon the snow within twelve paces of her. She never saw him lifthis head and look at her with an expression as cold and cruel as thatwhich Otter had seen in the eyes of the Water-Dweller, when he lifted_his_ head from its bed of rock. She never saw him roll slowly over andover across the snow towards her, pausing a while between each turn ofhis body, for now she was occupied in replacing the jewels one by oneinto their bag of leather. 

At last all were in, and with a sigh--for it was sad to lose sightof objects so beautiful--Juanna drew the mouth of the bag tight andprepared to place it round her neck. 

At this moment it was that a hand, withered and lean with age, passedbeneath her eyes, and, swiftly as the snatch of an eagle's talon, seizedthe bag and rent it from her grasp. She sprang up with a cry of dismay, and well might she be dismayed, for there, running from her withincredible speed, was Nam, the jewels in his hand. 

Otter and Leonard heard her cry, and, thinking that the priest wasescaping, sped to cut him off. But he had no idea of escape, at leastnot of such escape as they expected. Some forty yards from where Juannahad been sitting, a little promontory of rock jutted out over theunclimbable gulf below them and towards this spot Nam directed hissteps. Running along the ridge he halted at its end: indeed he must do, unless he would fall a thousand feet or more to the bottom of the ravinebeneath. Then he turned and faced his pursuers, who by now had reachedthe edge of the cliff. 

"Come one step nearer, " he cried, "and I let this bag fall whence youshall never recover it, for no foot can tread these walls of rock, andthere is water at the bottom of the gulf. "

Leonard and Otter stopped, trembling for the fate of the jewels. 

"Listen, Deliverer, " cried Nam; "you came to this land to seek thesetrinkets, is it not so? And now you have found them and would be gonewith them? But before you go you wish to kill me for vengeance' sake, because I have shown you to be cheats, and have sought to offer you upto those gods whom you have blasphemed. But the red stones you desireare in my hands, and if I unclasp my fingers they will be lost to youand all the world for ever. Say now, if I bring them back to you insafety, will you swear to give me my life and suffer me to go my ways inpeace?"

"Yes, we will swear it, " answered Leonard, who could not conceal theanguish of his anxiety. "Come back, Nam, and you shall depart unharmed;but if you let the stones fall, then you shall follow them. "

"You swear it, " said the priest contemptuously: "you are come to this, that you will sacrifice your revenge to satisfy your greed, O White Manwith a noble heart! Now I will outdo you, for I, who am not noble, willsacrifice my life to disappoint you of your desires. What! shall theancient holy treasure of the People of the Mist be stolen by two whitethieves and their black hound? Never! I would have killed you all hadtime been granted to me, but in that I failed, and I am glad that I havefailed, for now I will deal you a bitterer blow than any death. May thecurse of Jal and Aca cleave to you, you dogs without a kennel! May youlive outcasts and die in the dirt, and may your fathers and your mothersand your children spit upon your bones as I do! Farewell!"

And shaking his disengaged hand at them he spat towards them; then witha sudden motion Nam hurled himself backwards off the point of rock andvanished into space, bearing the treasure with him. 

For a while the three stood aghast and stared at each other and thepoint of rock which had been occupied by the venerable form of the latehigh priest; then Juanna sank upon the snow sobbing. 

"It is my fault, " she wailed, "all my fault. Just now I was boasting tomyself that I had won wealth for you, and I have lost everything. And wehave suffered for nothing, and, Leonard, you are a beggar. Oh! it is toomuch--too much!"

"Go out there, Otter, " said Leonard in a hoarse voice, pointing to theplace where Nam had hurled himself, "and see whether there is any chanceof our being able to climb down into the gulf. "

The dwarf obeyed and presently returned shaking his head. 

"It is impossible, Baas, " he said; "the walls of rock are sheer asthough they had been cut with a knife; moreover there is water at thebottom of them, as the old wizard said, for I can hear the sound of it. Oh! Baas, Baas, why did you not kill him at first, or let me kill himafterwards? Surely I told you that he would bring evil on us. Well, theyare gone and we can never find them again, so let us save our lives ifwe may, for after all these are more to us than bright stones. Come nowand help me, Baas, for I have found two flat rocks that will serve ourturn, a big one for you and the Shepherdess, since doubtless she willfear to make this journey alone, and a smaller one for myself. "

Leonard followed him without a word; he was too heart-broken to speak, while Juanna rose and returned to the spot where Nam had robbed her. Looking up presently, her eyes still blurred with tears, she saw Leonardand the dwarf laboriously pushing two heavy stones across the snowtowards her. 

"Come, do not cry, Juanna, " said Leonard, ceasing from his labours andlaying his hand kindly upon her shoulder, "they are gone and there is anend of it. Now we must think of other things. "

"Oh!" she answered, "if only you had seen them, you would never stopcrying all your life. "

"Then I dare say that the fit will be a short one, " replied Leonardgrimly, glancing at the awful bridge which stretched between them andsafety. 

"Listen, Juanna, you and I must lie upon this stone, and it will--sosays Otter--carry us across to the other side of the ravine. "

"I cannot, I cannot, " she gasped, "I shall faint and fall off. I am surethat I shall. "

"But you must, Juanna, " answered Leonard. "At least you must choosebetween this and returning to the City of the Mist. "

"I will come, " she said. "I know that I shall be killed, but it isbetter than going back to those horrible priests; and besides, it doesnot matter now that I have lost the jewels. "

"Jewels are not everything, Juanna. "

"Listen, Shepherdess, " put in Otter, "the thing is easy, though it looksdifficult. All that you have to do is to shut your eyes and lie still, then the stone will carry you over. I am not afraid. I will go firstto show you the way, and where a black dwarf can pass, there you whitepeople who are so much braver can follow. But before I start, I willtie you and the Deliverer together with my cord, for so you will feelsafer. "

Then Otter dragged both stones to the very verge of the incline, andhaving passed the rope about the waists of Juanna and Leonard, heprepared himself for the journey. 

"Now, Deliverer, " he said, "when I am safe across, all that you must doit to lie flat upon the stone, both of you, and to push a little withthe spear. Then before you know it, you will be by my side. "

"All right, " said Leonard doubtfully. "Well, I suppose that you hadbetter start; waiting won't make the matter any easier. "

"Yes, Baas, I will go now. Ah! little did I think that I should ever beforced to take such a ride as this. Well, it will be something to makesongs about afterwards. "

And Otter laid himself face downwards on the stone with a little laugh, though Leonard noticed that, however brave his spirit might be, hecould not prevent his flesh from revealing its natural weakness, for itquivered pitifully. 

"Now, Baas, " he said, gripping the edges of the stone with his largehands, "when I give the word do you push gently, and then you will seehow a black bird can fly. Put your head lower, Baas. "

Leonard obeyed, and the dwarf whispered in his ear:

"I only want to say, Baas, in case we should not meet again, foraccidents will happen even on the safest roads, that I am sorry that Imade such a pig of myself yonder; it was so dull down there in that holeof a palace, and the fog made me see all things wrong. Moreover, drinkand a wife have corrupted many a better man. Don't answer, Baas, butstart me, for I am growing afraid. "

Placing his hand at the back of the stone, Leonard gave it a slightpush. It began to move, very slowly at first, then more fast and fasteryet, till it was rushing over the smooth ice pathway with a whirringsound like that produced by the flight of a bird. Presently it hadreached the bottom of the first long slope and was climbing the gentlerise opposite, but so slowly that for a while Leonard thought that itwas going to stop. It crossed its brow, however, and vanished for a fewseconds into a dip where the watchers could not see it, then it appearedagain at the head of the second and longest slope, of which the anglewas very steep. Down this the stone rushed like an arrow from a bow, till it reached the narrow waist of the bridge, whereof the generalconformation bore some resemblance to that of a dead wasp lying on itsback. Indeed, from where Leonard and Juanna stood, the span of ice atthis point seemed to be no thicker than a silver thread, while Otter andthe stone might have been a fly upon the thread. Now of a sudden Leonarddistinctly saw the rock sledge and its living burden, which just thenwas travelling its swiftest, move upwards as though it had leapedinto the air and then continue its course along the rising place whichrepresented the throat of the wasp, till at length it stopped. 

Leonard looked at his watch; the time occupied by the transit was justfifty seconds, and the distance could not have been much less than halfa mile. 

"See, " he cried to Juanna, who all this while had sat with her handbefore her eyes to shut out the vision of the dwarf's dreadful progress, "he has crossed safely!" and he pointed to a figure that appeared to bedancing with glee upon the breast of the snow slope. 

As he spoke a faint sound reached their ears, for in those immensesilences sound can travel far. It was Otter shouting, and his wordsseemed to be, "Come on, Baas; it is easy. "

"I am glad he is safe, " said Juanna faintly, "but now we must followhim. Take my handkerchief, Leonard, and tie it over my eyes, please, forI cannot bear to look. The idol's head was nothing to this. "

Leonard obeyed her, bidding her not to be afraid. 

"Oh! but I am terribly afraid, " she said. "I never was so muchfrightened in all my life, and I--I have lost the jewels! Leonard, doforgive me for behaving so badly to you. I know that I have behavedbadly in many ways, though I have been too proud to admit it before. Butnow, when I am going to die, I want to beg your pardon. I hope you willthink kindly of me, Leonard, when I am dead, for I do love you withall my heart, indeed I do. " And tears began to roll down beneath thebandage. 

"Dearest, " he answered, kissing her tenderly, "as we are tied together, it seems that if you die I must die too. Do not break down now after youhave borne so much. "

"It is the jewels, " she sobbed, "the jewels; I feel as though I hadcommitted a murder. "

"Oh! bother the jewels!" said Leonard. "We can think about themafterwards. " And he advanced towards the flat stone, Juanna feeling thewhile as though they were two of Carrier's victims about to know theMarriage of the Loire. 

As they came to the stone Leonard heard a sound behind him, a sound offootsteps muffled by the snow, and glancing round he saw Soa rushingtowards them, almost naked, a spear-wound in her side, and the light ofmadness shining in her eyes. 

"Get back, " he said sternly, "or----" and he lifted the great spear. 

"Oh! Shepherdess, " she wailed, "take me with you, Shepherdess, for Icannot live without you. "

"Tell her to go away, " said Juanna, recognising the voice; "I never wantto see her any more. "

"You hear, Soa, " answered Leonard. "Stay, how has it gone yonder? Speaktruly. "

"I know not, Deliverer; when I left, Olfan and his brother still heldthe mouth of the tunnel and were unhurt, but the captain was dead. Islipped past them and got this as I went, " and she pointed to the gashin her side. 

"If he can hold out a little longer, help may reach him, " mutteredLeonard. Then without more words, he laid himself and Juanna facedownwards on the broad stone. 

"Now, Juanna, " he said, "we are going to start. Grip fast with yourright hand, and see that you do not leave go of the edge of the stone, or we shall both slip off it. "

"Oh! take me with you, Shepherdess, take me with you, and I will bewicked no more, but serve you as of old, " shrilled the voice of Soa inso despairing a cry that the rocks rang. 

"Hold fast, " said Leonard through his set teeth, as, disengaging hisright hand from about Juanna's waist, he seized the handle of the spearand pressed its broad blade against a knob of rock behind them. Now thestone, that was balanced on the very verge of the declivity, trembledbeneath them, and now, slowly and majestically as a vessel starting fromher slips when the launching cord is severed, it began to move down theicy way. 

For the first second it scarcely seemed to stir, then the motion grewpalpable, and at that instant Leonard heard a noise behind him and felthis left foot clasped by a human hand. There was a jerk that nearlydragged them off their sledge, but he held fast to the front edge ofthe stone, and though he could still feel the hand upon his ankle, thestrain became almost imperceptible. 

CHAPTER XXXIX

THE PASSING OF THE BRIDGE

Lifting his head very cautiously, Leonard looked over his shoulder andthe mystery was explained. In her madness and the fury of her love forthe mistress whom she had outraged and betrayed, Soa had striven tothrow herself upon the stone with them so soon as she saw it commenceto move. She was too late, and feeling herself slipping forward, shegrasped despairingly at the first thing that came to her hand, whichchanced to be Leonard's ankle. Now she must accompany them upon theirawesome journey; only, while they rode upon the stone, she was draggedafter them upon her breast. 

A flash of pity passed through Leonard's brain as he realised herfearful plight. Then for a while he forgot all about her, since hisattention was amply occupied with his own and Juanna's peril. Now theywere rushing down the long slope with an ever-increasing velocity, andnow they breasted the first rise, during the last ten yards of which, as in the case of Otter, the pace of the stone slowed down so much inproportion to the progressive exhaustion of its momentum, that Leonardthought they were coming to a standstill. Then it was that he kickedout viciously, striving to free himself from the weight of Soa, whichthreatened to bring them to a common ruin. But she clung to him likeivy to a tree, and he desisted from his efforts, fearing lest he shouldcause their sledge to alter its course. 

On the very top of the rise the motion of the stone decreased almost tonothingness, then little by little increased once more as they traverseda short sharp dip, the same in which they had lost sight of Otter, tobe succeeded by a gentle rise. So far, though exciting and novel, theirjourney had been comparatively safe, for the path was broad and the iceperfectly smooth. Its terrors were to come. 

Looking forward, Leonard saw that they were at the commencement of adecline measuring four or five hundred yards in length, and so steepthat, even had it offered a good foothold, human beings could scarcelyhave stood upon it. As yet the tongue of ice was fifty paces or morein width, but it narrowed rapidly as it fell, till at length near theopposite shore of the ravine, it fined away to a point like that of agreat white needle, and then seemed to break off altogether. 

Now they were well under way, and now they sped down the steep green iceat a pace that can hardly be imagined, though perhaps it is sometimesequalled by an eagle rushing on its quarry from some vast height ofair. Indeed it is possible that the sensations of an eagle making hisheadlong descent and those of Leonard may have been very similar, withthe important exception that the bird feels no fear, whereas absoluteterror are the only words wherewith to describe the mental state of theman. So smooth was the ice and so precipitous its pitch that he feltas though he were falling through space, unsupported by anything, fortravelling at that speed the friction of the stone was imperceptible. Only the air shrieked as they clove it, and Juanna's long tresses, tornby it from their fastenings, streamed out behind her like a veil. 

Down they went, still down; half--two-thirds of the distance was done, then he looked again and saw the horror that lay before them. Alreadythe bridge was narrow, barely the width of a small room; sixty yardsfurther on it tapered to so fine a point that their stone would almostcover its breadth, and beneath it on either side yawned that unmeasuredgulf wherein Nam was lost with the jewels. Nor was this all, for at itsnarrowest _the ice band was broken away for a space of ten or twelvefeet_, to continue on the further side of the gap for a few yards ata somewhat lower level, and then run upwards at a steep incline to thebreast of snow where Otter sat in safety. 

On they whizzed, ice beneath them and before them, and ice in Leonard'sheart, for he was frozen with fear. His breath had left him because ofthe rush of their progress, but his senses remained painfully acute. Involuntarily he glanced over the edge of the stone, saw the sheerdepths below him, and found himself wondering what was the law that kepttheir sledge upon this ribbon of ice, when it seemed so easy for it towhirl off into space. 

Now the gap was immediately in front of them. "God help us!" hemurmured, or rather thought, for there was no time for words, and theyhad left the road of ice and were flying through the air as though thestone which carried them were a living thing, that, seeing the peril, had gathered up its energies and sprung forward for its life. 

What happened? Leonard never knew for certain, and Otter swore that hisheart leaped from his bosom and stood in front of his eyes so that hecould not see. Before they touched the further point of ice--whilethey were in the air, indeed--they, or rather Leonard, heard a hideousscream, and felt a jerk so violent that his hold of the stone wasloosened, and it passed from beneath them. Then came a shock, less heavythan might have been expected, and lo! they were spinning onwards downthe polished surface of the ice, while the stone which had borne them sofar sped on in front like a horse that has thrown its rider. 

Leonard felt the rubbing of the ice burn him like hot iron. He felt alsothat his ankle was freed from the hand that had held it, then for someminutes he knew no more, for his senses left him. When they returned, itwas to hear the voice of Otter crying, "Lie still, lie still, Baas, donot stir for your life; I come. "

Instantly he was wide awake, and, moving his head ever so little, sawtheir situation. Then he wished that he had remained asleep, for it wasthis:

The impetus of their rush had carried them almost to the line where theice stopped and the rock and snow began, within some fifteen feet of it, indeed. But those fifteen feet were of the smoothest ice and very sheer, so smooth and sheer that no man could hope to climb them. Below them theslope continued for about thirteen or fourteen yards, till it met thecorresponding incline that led to the gap in the bridge. 

On this surface of ice they were lying spread-eagled. For a momentLeonard wondered how it was that they did not slide back to the bottomof the slope, there to remain till they perished, for without ropesand proper implements no human being could scale it. Then he saw that achance had befallen them, which in after-days he was wont to attributeto the direct intervention of Providence. 

It will be remembered that when they started, Leonard had pushed therock off with a spear which Olfan had given them. This spear he drew inagain as they began to move, placing it between his chest and the stone, for he thought that it might be of service to him should they succeedin crossing the gulf. When they were jerked from the sledge, and left toslide along the ice on the further side of the gap, in obedience tothe impetus given to them by the frightful speed at which they weretravelling, the spear, obeying the same laws of motion, accompaniedthem, but, being of a less specific gravity, lagged behind in the race, just as the stone, which was heaviest, outstripped them. 

As it happened, near the top of the rise there was a fissure in theice, and in this fissure the weapon had become fixed, its weighted bladecausing it to assume an upright position. When the senseless bodies ofLeonard and Juanna had slid as far up the slope as the unexpended energyof their impetus would allow, naturally enough they began to move backagain in accordance with the laws of gravity. Then it was, as luck wouldhave it, that the spear, fixed in the crevice of the ice, saved themfrom destruction; for it chanced that the descent of their two forms, passing on either side of it, was checked by the handle of the weapon, which caught the hide rope whereby they were bound together. 

All of this Leonard took in by degrees; also he discovered that Juannawas either dead or senseless, at the time he could not tell which. 

"What are you going to do?" he asked of Otter, who by now was on theverge of the ice fifteen feet above them. 

"Cut steps and pull you up, Baas, " answered the dwarf cheerfully. 

"It will not be easy, " said Leonard, glancing over his shoulder at thelong slope beneath, "and if we slip or the rope breaks----"

"Do not talk of slipping, Baas, " replied Otter, as he began to hack atthe ice with the priest's heavy knife, "and as for the rope, if it wasstrong enough for the Water-Dweller to drag me round the pool by, it isstrong enough to hold you two, although it has seen some wear. I onlywish I had such another, for then this matter would be simple. "

Working furiously, Otter hacked at the hard surface of the ice. Thefirst two steps he hollowed from the top of the slope lying on hisstomach. After this difficulties presented themselves which seemedinsuperable, for he could not chip at the ice when he had nothing bywhich to support himself. 

"What is to be done now?" said Leonard. 

"Keep cool, Baas, and give me time to think, " and for a moment Ottersquatted down and was silent. 

"I have it, " he said presently, and rising he took off his goat-skincloak and cut it into strips, each strip measuring about two inches inwidth by two feet six inches in length. These strips he knotted togetherfirmly, making a serviceable rope of them, long enough to reach to whereLeonard and Juanna were suspended on the stout handle of the spear. 

Then he took the stake which had already done him such good service, and, sharpening its point, fixed it as deeply as he could into the snowand earth on the border of the ice belt, and tied the skin rope to it. 

"Now, Baas, " he said, "all is well, for I can begin from the bottom. "

And, without further words, he let himself down till he hung besidethem. 

"Is the Shepherdess dead, Baas?" he asked, glancing at Juanna's paleface and closed eyes, "or does she only sleep?"

"I think that she is in a swoon, " answered Leonard; "but for heaven'ssake be quick, Otter, for I am being frozen on this ice. What is yourplan now?"

"This, Baas: to tie about your middle the end of the rope that I havemade from the cloak, then to undo the cord that binds you and theShepherdess together, and return to the top of the slope. Once there Ican pull her up by the hide line, for it is strong, and she will slipeasily over the ice, and you can follow. "

"Good!" said Leonard. 

Then hanging by one hand the dwarf managed, with such assistance asLeonard could give him, to knot beneath Leonard's arms the end of therope which he had constructed from the skin garment. Next he set to workto untie the hide cord, thereby freeing him from Juanna. And nowcame the most difficult and dangerous part of the task, for Leonard, suspended from the shaft of the spear by one hand, must support Juanna'ssenseless form with the other, while Otter made shift to drag himselfto the summit of the ice, holding the hide line in his teeth. The spearbent dreadfully, and Leonard did not dare to put any extra strain uponthe roughly fastened cord of goat-skin, by which the dwarf was haulinghimself up the ice, for if it gave they must all be precipitated to thedip below, there to perish miserably. Faint and frozen as he was, itseemed hours to him before Otter reached the top and called to him toget go of Juanna. 

Leonard obeyed, and seating himself on the snow, his feet supported bythe edge of the ice, the dwarf put out his strength and began to pullher up. Strong as he was, it proved as much as he was able to do;indeed, had Juanna lain on any other material than ice, he could nothave done it at all. But in the end he succeeded, and with a gasp ofgratitude Leonard saw her stretched safe upon the snow. 

Now Otter, hastily undoing the cord from Juanna's waist, made it intoa running noose which he threw down to Leonard, who placed it over hisshoulders. Having lifted the spear from the cleft in which it stood, hecommenced his ascent. His first movements cost him a pang of agony, and no wonder, for the blood from wounds that had been caused by thefriction of his flesh as he was hurled along the surface of the slide, had congealed, freezing his limbs to the ice, whence they could noteasily be loosened. The pain, sharp as it was, did him good, however, for it aroused his benumbed energies and enabled him to drag on thegoat-skin cord with all his strength, while Otter tugged at that whichwas beneath his arms. 

Well for him was it that the dwarf had taken the precaution of throwingdown this second line, for presently Otter's stake, which had no firmhold in the frozen earth, came out and slid away, striking Leonard as itpassed and bearing the knotted lengths of the cloak with it. The dwarfcried aloud and bent forward as though he were about to fall. By afearful effort he recovered himself and held fast the rope in his hand, while Leonard, suspended by it, swung to and fro on the surface of theice like the pendulum of a clock. 

Then followed the most terrible moments of all their struggle againstthe difficulties of this merciless place. The dwarf held fast above, andLeonard, ceasing to swing, lay with hands and legs outstretched on theface of the ice. 

"Now, Baas, " said Otter, "be brave, and when I pull, do you wriggleforward. "

He tugged till the thin hide rope stretched, while Leonard clawed andkicked at the ice with his toes, knees, and disengaged hand. 

Alas! it gave no hold--he might as well have tried to climb a dome ofplate glass at an angle of sixty degrees. 

"Rest awhile, Baas, " said the dwarf, whose breath was coming in greatsobs, "then make a little nick in the ice with the blade of the spear, and when next I pull, try to set some of your weight upon it. "

Leonard did as he was bid without speaking. 

"Now, " said the dwarf, and with a push and a struggle Leonard was twofeet higher up the incline. Again the process was repeated, and thistime he got his left hand into the lowest of the two steps that Otterhad hacked with the knife, and once more they paused for breath. A thirdeffort, the fiercest of them all, a clasping of hands, and he was lyingtrembling like a frightened child above the glacier's lip. 

The ordeal was over, that danger was done with, but at what a cost!Leonard's nerves were completely shattered, he could not stand, hisface was bleeding, his nails were broken, and the bone of one knee wasexposed by the friction of the ice, to say nothing of the shock to thesystem and the bruises which he had received when he was hurled from thestone. Otter's condition was a little better, but his hands were cutby the rope and he was utterly exhausted with toil and the strain ofsuspense. Indeed, of the three Juanna had come off by far the best, forshe swooned at the very beginning of the passage of the bridge, and whenthey were jerked from the stone, being lighter than Leonard, she hadfallen upon him. Moreover, the thick goat-skin cloak which was wrappedabout her had protected her from all hurt beyond a few trifling cuts andbruises. Of their horrible position when they were hanging to the spear, and the rest of the adventure, including the death of Soa, she knewnothing, and it was well for her reason that this was so. 

"Otter, " murmured Leonard in a shaking voice, "have you lost that gourdof spirit?"

"No, Baas, it is safe. "

"Thank Heaven!" he said; "hold it to my lips if you can. "

The dwarf lifted it with a trembling hand, and Leonard gulped down thefiery liquor. 

"That's better, " he said; "take some yourself. "

"Nay, Baas, I have sworn to touch drink no more, " Otter answered, looking at the gourd longingly; "besides you and the Shepherdess willwant it all. I have some food here and I will eat. "

"What happened to Soa, Otter?"

"I could not see rightly, Baas, I was too frightened, much morefrightened than I had been when I rode the stone myself; but I thinkthat her legs caught in the ice on this side of the hole, and so shefell. It was a good end for her, the vicious old cow!" he added, with atouch of satisfaction. 

"It was very near being a bad end for us, " answered Leonard, "but wehave managed to come out of it alive somehow. Not for all the rubies inthe world would I cross that place again. "

"Nor I, Baas. _Wow!_ it was awful. Now my stomach went through my head, and now my head went through my stomach, and the air was red and greenand blue, and devils shouted at me out of it. Yes, and when I came tothe hole, there I saw the Water-Dweller all fashioned in fire waitingwith an open mouth to eat me. It was the drink that made me think ofthese things, Baas, and that is why I have sworn to touch it nomore. Yes, I swore it as I flew through the air and saw the flamingWater-Dweller beneath me. And now, Baas, I am a little rested, so let ustry and wake up the Shepherdess, and get us gone. "

"Yes, " said Leonard, "though I am sure I do not know where we are to goto. It can't be far, for I am nearly spent. "

Then crawling to where Juanna lay wrapped in her cloak, Otter pouredsome of the native spirit down her throat while Leonard rubbed herhands. Presently this treatment produced its effect, for she sat up witha start, and seeing the ice before her, began to shriek, saying, "Takeme away; I can't do it, Leonard, I can't indeed. "

"All right, dear, " he answered, "you have done it. We are over. "

"Oh!" she said, "I _am_ thankful. But where is Soa? I thought that Iheard her throw herself down behind us. "

"Soa is dead, " he answered. "She fell down the gulf and nearly pulledus with her. I will tell you all about it afterwards; you are not fit tohear it now. Come, dear, let us be going out of this accursed place. "

Juanna staggered to her feet. 

"I am so stiff and sore that I can hardly stand, " she said, "but, Leonard, what is the matter with you? You are covered with blood. "

"I will tell you afterwards, " he replied again. 

Then Otter collected their baggage, which consisted chiefly of the hideline and the spear, and they crawled forward up the snow-slope. Sometwenty or thirty yards ahead of them, and almost side by side, lay thetwo glacier stones on which they had passed the bridge, and near themthose which Otter had despatched as pioneers on the previous morning. They looked at them wondering. Who could have believed that these inertthings, not an hour before, had been speeding down the icy way quickerthan any express train that ever travelled, and they with them?

One thing was certain: did they remain unbroken for another two or threemillion years, and that is a short life for a stone, they would neveragain make so strange a journey. 

Then the three toiled on to the top of the snow-slope, which was aboutfour hundred yards away. 

"Look, Baas, " said Otter, who had turned to gaze a fond farewell at thegulf behind; "there are people yonder on the further side. "

He was right. On the far brink of the crevasse were the forms of men, who seemed to be waving their arms in the air and shouting. But whetherthese were the priests who, having overcome the resistance of Olfan, hadpursued the fugitives to kill them, or the soldiers of the king who hadconquered the priests, the distance would not allow them to see. Thefate of Olfan and the further domestic history of the People of the Mistwere now sealed books to them, for they never heard any more of thesematters, nor are they likely to do so. 

Then the travellers began to descend from field to field of snow, thegreat peak above alone remaining to remind them that they were near tothe country of the Mist. Once they stopped to eat a little of such foodas they had with them, and often enough to rest, for their strength wassmall. Indeed, as they dragged themselves wearily forward, each of themen holding Juanna by the hand, Leonard found himself wondering how itcame about, putting aside the bodily perils from which they had escaped, that they had survived the exhaustion and the horrors, physical andmental, of the last forty-eight hours. 

But there they were still alive, though in a sorry plight, and beforeevening they found themselves below the snow line in a warm and genialclimate. 

"I must stop, " said Juanna as the sun began to set; "I can drag myselfno further. "

Leonard looked at Otter in despair. 

"There is a big tree yonder, Baas, " said the dwarf with an attempt atcheerfulness, "and water by it. It is a good place to camp, and here theair is warm, we shall not suffer from cold. Nay, we are lucky indeed;think how we passed last night. "

They reached the tree, and Juanna sank down half fainting against itsbole. With difficulty Leonard persuaded her to swallow a little meatand a mouthful of spirit, and then, to his relief, she relapsed into acondition with partook more of the nature of stupor than of sleep. 

CHAPTER XL

OTTER'S FAREWELL

The night which followed, Leonard is wont to declare, proved to be thevery worst that he ever spent in his life. Notwithstanding his intenseweariness, he could not sleep, his nerves were too shattered to allowof it. Whenever he shut his eyes, he saw himself hanging head downwardsover the oubliette in the cell beneath the idol, or flying through theair across the dreadful gap in the ice-bridge, or in some other positionof terror, similar to those with which they had made such intimateacquaintance of late. Did these visions cease, from time to time heseemed to hear the voice of Francisco bidding him farewell, the yell ofSoa falling to her dreadful death, or Nam raving his last defiance atthem. Also his hurts, which were many, gave him great pain, and thoughthe climate here was mild, the breeze from the snow heights chilled himthrough, and they had not even a match wherewith to light a fire andscare the wild beasts that roared about them. 

Rarely have three human beings been in a position more desolateand desperate than that in which they found themselves this night, exhausted, unarmed, almost without food or clothing, and wandering theyknew not where through the vastness of Central Africa. Unless some helpfound them, as Leonard was aware, they must perish of starvation, by thefangs of lions, or the spears of natives. It was impossible that theycould live through another week, and the thought came into his mind thatit would be well for them if they died that night and had done with it. 

It would be well; yes, and it would have been better if he had been laidby the side of his brother Tom before ever he listened to Soa's accursedtale of the People of the Mist and their treasure of rubies. Only thenhe would never have known Juanna, for she must have died in the slavecamp. 

This was the fruit of putting faith in the visions of dying men. Andyet, it was strange, he had _nearly_ got the money and "by the help ofa woman, " for those rubies would have sufficed to buy back Outram tentimes over. But, alas! nearly is not quite. That dream was done with, and even if they escaped, it would be to find himself more utterlybeggared than before, for now he would be a married beggar. 

At last the night wore away and the dawn came, but Juanna did not wakeuntil the sun was high. Leonard, who had crept to a little distance--fornow he was quite unable to walk--saw her sit up and crawled back to her. She stared at him vacantly and said something about Jane Beach. Then heknew that she was wandering. There was nothing to be done. What could bedone in that wilderness with a woman in delirium, except wait for death?

Accordingly Leonard and Otter waited for some hours. Then the dwarf, who was in far the best condition of the three, took the spear--Olfan'sgift--and said that he would go and seek for food, since their store wasexhausted. Leonard nodded, though he knew that there was little chanceof a man armed with a spear alone being able to kill game, and Otterwent. 

Towards evening he returned, reporting that he had seen plenty of buck, but could not get near them, which was just what his master expected. That night they passed hungry, by turns watching Juanna, who was stilldelirious. At dawn Otter started out again, leaving Leonard, who hadbeen unable to sleep as on the previous night, crouched at Juanna'sside, his face buried in his hands. 

Before noon Leonard chanced to look up, and saw the dwarf reelingtowards him, for he also was faint with want of food. Indeed his greathead and almost naked body, through the skin of which the misshapenbones seemed to start in every direction, presented so curious aspectacle that his master, whose brain was shaken by weakness, began tolaugh. 

"Don't laugh, Baas, " gasped the dwarf; "either I am mad, or we aresaved. "

"Then I think that you must be mad, Otter, for we shall take a dealof saving, " he answered wearily, for he had ceased to believe in goodfortune. "What is it?"

"This, Baas. There is a white man coming this way and more than ahundred servants with him; they are marching up the mountain slope. "

"You are certainly mad, Otter, " Leonard replied. "What in the names ofJal and Aca is a white man doing here? I am the only one of that specieswho have been fool enough to penetrate these regions, I and Francisco, "and he shut his eyes and dozed off. 

Otter looked at him for a while, then he tapped his foreheadsignificantly and started down the slope again. An hour later, Leonard, still dozing, was awakened by a sound of many voices, and by a hand thatshook him not too gently. 

"Awake, Baas, " said the dwarf, for the hand was his; "I have caught thewhite man and brought him here. "

Leonard staggered to his feet and saw before him, surrounded bygun-bearers and other attendants, an English gentleman, rather underthan over middle age, with a round and kindly face tanned by the sun, and somewhat deep-set dark eyes having an eyeglass fixed in one of them, through which its wearer regarded him with much commiseration. 

"How do you do, sir?" said the stranger in a pleasant voice. "So faras I can make out from your servant you seem to be in a baddish way. ByGeorge! there is a lady. "

"How do you do?" answered Leonard. "Capital sun-helmet that of yours. I envy it, but you see I have had to go bare-headed lately, " and heran his fingers through his matted hair. "Who is the maker of thateight-bore? Looks a good gun!"

"Achmet, " said the stranger, turning to an Arab at his side, "go to thefirst donkey and fetch this lord of the earth a pint of champagne andsome oatmeal cakes; he seems to want them. Tell the bearers also tobring up my tent and to pitch it there by the water. Quick, now. "

Forty-eight hours had passed, and the benevolent stranger was sittingon a camp-stool in the door of his tent, looking at two forms that laywrapped in blankets and comfortably asleep within it. 

"I suppose that they will wake some time, " he murmured, dropping hiseyeglass and taking the pipe from his mouth. "The quinine and champagnehave done them a lot of good: there is nothing like quinine andchampagne. But what an unconscionable liar that dwarf must be! Thereis only one thing he can do better, and that is eat. I never saw a chapstow away so much grub, though I must say that he looks as though heneeded it. Still, allowing for all deductions, it is a precious queerstory. Who are they, and what the deuce are they doing here? One thingis clear: I never saw a finer-looking man nor a prettier girl. " Andhe filled his pipe again, replaced the eyeglass in his eye, and begansmoking. 

Ten minutes later Juanna sat up suddenly, whereupon the strangerwithdrew out of sight. She looked round her wildly, then, seeing Leonardlying at the further side of the tent, she crept to him and begankissing him, saying: "Leonard! Thank God that you are still alive, Leonard! I dreamed that we both were dead. Thank God that you arealive!"

Then the man who had been thus adjured woke up also and returned hercaresses. 

"By George! this is quite affecting, " said the traveller. "I supposethat they are married; if not, they ought to be. Any way, I had betterclear out for a while. "

An hour later he returned to find that the pair had made themselves aspresentable as soap and water, and some few spare garments which he hadsent to Leonard, would allow, and were now sitting in the sun outsidethe tent. He advanced, lifting his helmet, and they rose to meet him. 

"I suppose that I had better introduce myself, " he said with somehesitation, for he was a shy man. "I am an English traveller, doing alittle exploring on my own account, for lack of any other occupation, and my name is Sydney Wallace. "

"Mine is Leonard Outram, " answered Leonard, "and this young lady is MissJuanna Rodd. "

Mr. Wallace started and bowed again. So they were _not_ married!

"We are deeply indebted to you, sir, " went on Leonard; "for you haverescued us from death. "

"Not at all, " answered Mr. Wallace. "You must thank that servant ofyours, the dwarf, and not me, for if he had not seen us, I should havepassed a mile or more to the left of you. The fact is that I am ratherfond of mountaineering, and seeing this great peak above us--I am toldthat it is the highest in the Bisa-Mushinga Mountains--I thought thatI might as well have a try at it before I turn homewards, _via_ LakeNyassa, Livingstonia, Blantyre, and Quilimane. But perhaps you will notmind telling me how you came to be here. I have heard something from thedwarf, but his tale seems a little too steep. "

"I am afraid you will think ours rather steeper, Mr. Wallace, "said Leonard, and he proceeded to give him a short outline of theiradventures. 

When he came to their arrival among the People of the Mist, anddescribed the inauguration of Otter and Juanna as gods in the temple ofthe colossus, he noticed that his auditor had let the eyeglass fall fromhis round eye, and was regarding him with mild amazement. 

"I am afraid that all this does not interest you, " said Leonard stiffly. 

"On the contrary, Mr. Outram, it interests me very much. I amexceedingly fond of romances, and this is rather a good one. "

"As I thought; it is scarcely worth while to go on, " said Leonard again. "Well, I cannot wonder that you do not believe me. "

"Leonard, " interposed Juanna quietly, "you still have the star ruby;show it to Mr. Wallace!"

He did so, somewhat sulkily, and then, as he seemed disinclined to sayanything more, Juanna took up the tale, showing in evidence of its truththe spear, the frayed rope, and the tattered white robe which she hadworn in her character of Aca, and, indeed, still wore beneath poorFrancisco's cassock--for she had no other. 

Mr. Wallace heard her out, then, without making any comment, he rose, saying that he must try to shoot some meat for the camp, and begged thatthey would make themselves comfortable until his return that evening. 

Before sundown he reappeared, and, coming straight to the tent, askedtheir pardon for his incredulity. 

"I have been up yonder, " he said, "following your spoor backwards. Ihave seen the snow-bridge and the stones, and the nicks which the dwarfcut in the ice. All is just as you told me, and it only remains for meto congratulate you upon having escaped from the strangest series ofdangers that ever I heard of"; and he held out his hand, which bothLeonard and Juanna shook warmly. 

"By the way, " he added, "I sent men to examine the gulf for severalmiles, but they report to me that they found no spot where it would bepossible to descend it, and I fear, therefore, that the jewels are lostfor ever. I confess that I should have liked to try to penetrateinto the Mist country, but my nerves are not strong enough for theice-bridge, and if they were, stones won't slide uphill. Besides, youmust have had about enough of roughing it, and will be anxious to turnyour faces towards civilisation. So after you have rested another coupleof days I think that we had better start for Quilimane, which, barringaccidents, is about three months' march from here. "

Shortly afterwards they started accordingly, but with the details oftheir march we need not concern ourselves. An exception must bemade, however, in the case of a single event which happened at themission-station of Blantyre. That event was the wedding of Leonard andJuanna in conformance with the ceremonies of their own church. 

No word of marriage had been spoken between them for some weeks, andyet the thought of it was never out of the minds of either. Indeed, hadtheir feelings been much less tender towards each other than was thecase, it would still have been desirable, in view of the extraordinaryintimacy into which they had been thrown during the past months, thatthey should become man and wife. Leonard felt that alone as she was inthe wide world, nothing short of mutual aversion would have justifiedhim in separating from Juanna, and as it was love and not aversionthat he entertained towards her, this argument came home to him withovermastering force. 

"Juanna, " he said to her on the day of their arrival at Blantyre, "youremember some words that passed between your father and myself when helay upon his death-bed, to the effect that, should we both wish it, hetrusted to my honour to remarry you formally as soon as an opportunitymight arise. 

"Now the opportunity is here, and I ask you if you desire to take me foryour husband, as, above everything in the world, I desire to make you mybeloved wife. "

She coloured to her beautiful eyes and answered in a voice that wasalmost a whisper:

"If you wish it and think me worthy of you, Leonard, you know thatI wish it also. I have always loved you, dear, yes, even when I wasbehaving worst to you; but there is--Jane Beach!"

"I have told you before, Juanna, " he answered with some littleirritation, "and now I tell you again, that Jane Beach and I have donewith each other. "

"I am sure that I am very glad to hear it, " Juanna replied, stillsomewhat dubiously. The rest of that conversation, being of a privatecharacter, will scarcely interest the public. 

When he spoke thus, Leonard little knew after what fashion Jane Beachand he had wound up their old love affair. 

Two days later Leonard Outram took Juanna Rodd to wife, "to have and tohold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness andin health, to love and to cherish till death did them part, " and theirrescuer, Sydney Wallace, who by now had become their fast friend, gaveher away. 

Very curious were the memories that passed through Juanna's mind asshe stood by her husband's side in the little grass-roofed chapel ofBlantyre, for was this not the third time that she had been married, andnow only of her own free will? She bethought her of that wild scene inthe slave camp; of Francisco who died to save her, and of the blessingwhich he had called down upon her and this very man; of that otherscene in the rock prison, when, to protect Leonard's life, she waswed, according to the custom of the Children of the Mist, to thattrue-hearted gentleman and savage, Olfan, their king. Then she awokewith a happy sigh to know that the lover at her side could never betaken from her again until death claimed one of them. 

"We shall be dreadfully poor, Leonard, " she said to him afterwards; "itwould have been much better for you, dear, if I had fallen into the gulfinstead of the rubies. "

"I am not of your opinion, love, " he answered with a smile for he wasvery happy. "Hang the rubies! Your price is far above rubies, and no manmay struggle against fate. I have always been able to make a living formyself heretofore, and I do not doubt that I shall continue to do so forboth of us, and we will leave the rest to Providence. You are more tome, Juanna, than any wealth--more even than Outram. "

That evening Mr. Wallace found Otter gazing disconsolately at the littlehouse in which Leonard and Juanna were staying. 

"Are you sad because your master is married, Otter?" he asked. 

"No, " answered the dwarf, "I am glad. For months he has been runningafter her and dreaming of her, and now at last he has got her. Henceforth she must dream of him and run after him, and he will havetime to think about other people, who love him quite as well. "

Another month or so went by while the party journeyed in easy stagestowards the coast, and never had wedded lovers a happier honeymoon, orone more unconventional, than that passed by Leonard and Juanna, thoughperhaps Mr. Wallace and Otter did not find the contemplation of theirraptures a very exhilarating occupation. 

At last they reached Quilimane in safety, and pitched their camp onsome rising ground outside of the settlement, which is unhealthy. Nextmorning at daybreak Mr. Wallace started to the post-office, where heexpected to find letters. Leonard and Juanna did not accompany him, butwent for a walk before the sun grew hot. Then it was, as they walked, that a certain fact came home to them; namely, that they could not availthemselves of their host's kindness any longer, and, further, that theywere quite penniless. When one is moving slowly across the vast Africanwilds, and living on the abounding game, love and kisses seem an ampleprovision for all wants. But the matter strikes the mind in a differentlight after the trip is done, and civilisation with its necessitieslooms large in the immediate future. 

"What are we to do, Juanna?" asked Leonard in dismay. "We have no moneyto enable us to reach Natal or anywhere, and no credit on which todraw. "

"I suppose that we must sell the great ruby, " she answered, with a sigh, "though I shall be sorry to part with it. "

"Nobody will buy such a stone here, Juanna, and it may not be a realruby after all. Perhaps Wallace might be willing to advance me a trifleon it, though I hate having to ask him. "

Then they went back to breakfast, which they did not find an altogethercheerful meal. As they were finishing, Mr. Wallace returned from thetown. 

"I have got good news, " he said; "the British India mail will be here intwo days, so I shall pay off my men and go up to Aden in her, and thencehome. Of course you will come too, for, like me, I expect you have hadenough of Africa for the present. Here are some copies of the weeklyedition of the 'Times'; look through them, Mrs. Outram, and see the newswhile I read my letters. "

Leonard turned aside moodily and lit his pipe. How was he to findmoney to take even a third-class passage on the British India mail? ButJuanna, obeying the instinct that prompts a woman to keep up appearancesat all hazards, took one of the papers and opened it, although the tearswhich swam in her eyes would scarcely suffer her to see the print. Thusthings went on for ten minutes or more, as she idly turned the pagesof two or three issues of the weekly "Times, " trying to collect herthoughts and pick up the thread of current events. 

But it is wonderful how uninteresting and far-away those events appearafter the reader has been living a life to herself for a year or so, andJuanna, preoccupied as she was with her own thoughts, was about to giveup the attempt as a failure, when the name of _Outram_ started to hereyes. 

A minute later her two companions heard a sharp exclamation and turnedround. 

"What is the matter, Mrs. Outram?" said Wallace. "Has France declaredwar against Germany, or is Mr. Gladstone dead?"

"Oh! no, something much more important than that. Listen to thisadvertisement, Leonard:--

"'If Leonard Outram, second son of Sir Thomas Outram, Bart. , late ofOutram Hall, who was last heard of in the territory to the north ofDelagoa Bay, Eastern Africa, or, in the event of his death, his lawfulheirs, will communicate with the undersigned, he or they will hear ofsomething very greatly to his or their advantage. Thomson & Turner, 2Albert Court, London, E. C. '"

"Are you joking, Juanna?" said Leonard after a pause. 

"Look for yourself, " she answered. 

He took the paper, and read and reread the notice. 

"Well, there is one thing certain, " he said, "that no one ever stoodin greater need of hearing something to his advantage than I do atthis moment, for excepting the ruby, which may not be a true stone, wehaven't a stiver to bless ourselves with in the world. Indeed, Idon't know how I am to avail myself of Messrs. Thomson & Turner's kindinvitation, unless I write them a letter and go to live in a Kaffir huttill the answer comes. "

"Don't let that trouble you, my dear fellow, " said Wallace; "I can getplenty of cash here, and it is very much at your service. "

"I am ashamed to take further advantage of your kindness, " answeredLeonard, flushing. "This advertisement may mean nothing, or perhaps alegacy of fifty pounds, though I am sure I don't know who would leave meeven that sum. And then, how should I repay you?"

"Stuff!" said Wallace. 

"Well, " replied Leonard, "beggars must put their pride in their pockets. If you will lend me a couple of hundred pounds and take the ruby inpledge, I shall be even more grateful to you than I am at present, andthat is saying a good deal. "

On this business basis the matter was ultimately arranged, though withinhalf an hour Wallace handed back the great stone into Juanna's keeping, bidding her "keep it dark"; an injunction which she obeyed in everysense of the word, for she hid the ruby where once the poison hadlain--in her hair. 

Two busy days went by, and on the third morning a messenger came runningfrom the town to announce that the northward mail was in sight. Then itwas that Otter, who all this while had said nothing, advanced solemnlytowards Leonard and Juanna, holding his hand outstretched. 

"What is the matter, Otter?" asked Leonard, who was engaged in helpingWallace to pack his hunting trophies. 

"Nothing, Baas; I have come to say good-bye to you and the Shepherdess, that is all. I wish to go now before I see the Steam-fish carry youaway. "

"Go!" said Leonard; "you wish to go?"

Somehow Otter had become so much a part of their lives, that, evenin their preparations to leave for England, neither of them had everthought of parting from him. 

"Why do you wish to go?" he added. 

"Because I am an ugly old black dog, Baas, and can be of no further useto you out yonder, " and he nodded towards the sea. 

"I suppose you mean that you do not want to leave Africa, even for awhile, " said Leonard, with ill-concealed grief and vexation. "Well, itis hard to part with you like this. Also, " he added with a little laugh, "it is awkward, for I owe you more than a year's wages, and have notthe money to spare to pay you. Moreover, I had taken your passage on theship. "

"What does the Baas say?" asked Otter slowly; "that he has bought me aplace in the Steam-fish?"

Leonard nodded. 

"Then I beg your pardon, Baas. I thought that you had done with me andwere going to throw me away like a worn-out spear. "

"So you wish to come, Otter?" said Leonard. 

"Wish to come!" he answered wonderingly. "Are you not my father and mymother, and is not the place where you may be my place? Do you know whatI was going to do just now, Baas? I was going to climb to the top ofa tree and watch the Steam-fish till it vanished over the edge of theworld; then I would have taken this rope, which already has served mewell among the People of the Mist, and set it about my throat and hangedmyself there in the tree, for that is the best end for old dogs, Baas. "

Leonard turned away to hide the tears which started to his eyes, forthe dwarf's fidelity touched him more than he cared to show. Seeing histrouble, Juanna took up the talk to cover his confusion. 

"I fear that you will find it cold over yonder, Otter, " she said. "It isa land of fog, they tell me, and there are none of your own people, nowives or Kaffir beer. Also, we may be poor and have to live hardly. "

"Of fog I have seen something lately, Shepherdess, " answered the dwarf;"and yet I was happy in the fog, because I was near the Baas. Of hardliving I have seen something also, and still I was happy, because I wasnear the Baas. Once I had a wife and beer in plenty, more than a mancould want, and then I was unhappy, because they estranged me from theBaas, and he knew that I had ceased to be Otter, his servant whom hetrusted, and had become a beast. Therefore, Shepherdess, I would see nomore of wives and beer. "

"Otter, you idiot, " broke in Leonard brusquely, "you had better stoptalking and get something to eat, for it will be the last meal that youwill wish to see for many a day. "

"The Baas is right, " replied the dwarf; "moreover, I am hungry, forsorrow has kept me from food for these two days. Now I will fill myselffull, that I may have something to offer to the Black Water when heshakes me in his anger. "

ENVOI

THE END OF THE ADVENTURE

Six weeks or so had passed when a four-wheeled cab drew up at the doorof 2 Albert Court, London, E. C. 

The progress of this vehicle had excited some remark among the moreyouthful and lighter-minded denizens of the City, for on its box, arrayed in an ill-fitting suit of dittoes and a brown hat some sizes tosmall for him, sat a most strange object, whose coal-black countenance, dwarfed frame, and enormous nose and shoulders attracted their ribaldobservance. 

"Look at him, Bill, " said one youth to an acquaintance; "he's escapedfrom Madame Tussaud's, he has. Painted hisself over with Day & Martin'sbest, and bought a secondhand Guy Fawkes nose. "

Just then his remarks were cut short, for Otter, having been made tounderstand by the driver that they had arrived at their destination, descended from the box in a manner so original, that it is probablypeculiar to the aborigines of Central Africa, and frightened that boyaway. 

From the cab emerged Leonard and Juanna, looking very much the betterfor their sea journey. Indeed, having recovered her health and spirits, and being very neatly dressed in a grey frock, with a wide black hattrimmed with ostrich feathers, Juanna looked what she was, a very lovelywoman. Entering an outer office Leonard asked if Messrs. Thomson &Turner were to be seen. 

"Mr. Turner is within, sir, " answered a clerk of venerable appearance. "Mr. Thomson"--here his glance fell upon Otter and suddenly he froze up, then added with a jerk--"has been dead a hundred years! Thomson, sir, "he explained, recovering his dignity, but with his eyes still fixed onOtter, "was the founder of this firm; he died in the time of GeorgeIII. That is his picture over the door--the person with a harelip and asnuffbox. "

"Indeed!" said Leonard. "As Mr. Thomson is not available, perhaps youwill tell Mr. Turner that a gentleman would like to speak to him. "

"Certainly, sir, " said the old clerk, still staring fixedly at Otter, whose aspect appeared to fascinate him as much as that worthy had beenfascinated by the eyes of the Water-Dweller. "Have you an appointment, sir?"

"No, " answered Leonard. "Tell him that it is in reference to anadvertisement which his firm inserted in the 'Times' some months ago. "

The clerk started, wondering if this could be the missing Mr. Outram. That much-sought-for individual was understood to have resided inAfrica, which is the home of dwarfs and other oddities. Once more hestared at Otter and vanished through a swing door. 

Presently he returned. "Mr. Turner will see you, sir, if you and thelady will please to step in. Does this--gentleman--wish to accompanyyou?"

"No, " said Leonard, "he can stop here. "

Thereupon the clerk handed Otter a tall stool, on which the dwarfperched himself disconsolately. Then he opened the swing door andushered Leonard and his wife into Mr. Turner's private room. 

"Whom have I the pleasure of addressing?" said a bland, stout gentleman, rising from before a table strewn with papers. "Pray be seated, madam. "

Leonard drew from his pocket a copy of the weekly "Times" and handed itto him, saying:

"I understand that you inserted this advertisement. "

"Certainly we did, " answered the lawyer after glancing at it. "Do youbring me any news of Mr. Leonard Outram?"

"Yes, I do. I am he, and this lady is my wife. "

The lawyer bowed politely. "This is most fortunate, " he said; "we hadalmost given up hope--but, of course, some proofs of identity will berequired. "

"I think that they can be furnished to your satisfaction, " answeredLeonard briefly. "Meanwhile, for the sake of argument, perhaps you willassume that I am the person whom I state myself to be, and inform me towhat this advertisement refers. "

"Certainly, " answered the lawyer, "there can be no harm in that. SirThomas Outram, the late baronet, as you are doubtless aware, had twosons, Thomas and Leonard. Leonard, the second son, as a young man wasengaged to, or rather had some love entanglement with, a lady--really Iforget her maiden name, but perhaps you can inform me of it----"

"Do you happen to mean Miss Jane Beach?" said Leonard quietly. 

At this point Juanna turned in her chair and became extraordinarily, indeed almost fiercely, interested in the conversation. 

"Quite so; Beach was the name. You must excuse my forgetfulness. Well, Sir Thomas's affairs fell into confusion, and after their father's deathMr. Leonard Outram, with his elder brother Thomas, emigrated to SouthAfrica. In that same year Miss Jane--eh--Beach married a client of ours, Mr. Cohen, whose father had purchased the estate of Outram from thetrustees in bankruptcy. "

"Indeed!" said Leonard. 

"Shortly afterwards, " went on the lawyer, "Mr. Cohen, or rather SirJonas Cohen, succeeded to the estate on the death of his father. Twoyears ago he died leaving all his property, real and personal, to hisonly child, a daughter named Jane, with reversion to his widow in feesimple. Within a month of his death the child Jane died also, and ninemonths later her mother, Lady Cohen, _nee_ Jane Beach, followed her tothe grave. "

"Yes, " said Leonard in a dull voice, and hiding his face in his hand;"go on, sir. "

"Lady Cohen made a somewhat peculiar will. Under the terms of that willshe bequeaths the mansion house and estates of Outram, together withmost of her personal property, amounting in all to something over ahundred thousand pounds, to her old friend Leonard Outram and the heirsof his body, with reversion to her brother. This will has not beendisputed; therefore, if you are Leonard Outram, I may congratulateyou upon being once more the owner of your ancestral estate and aconsiderable fortune in cash. "

For a while Leonard was too agitated to speak. 

"I will prove to you, " he said at last, "that I am this person, that is, I will prove it _prima facie_; afterwards you can satisfy yourself ofthe truth of my statements by the usual methods. " And he proceeded toadduce a variety of evidence as to his identity which need not be setout here. The lawyer listened in silence, taking a note from time totime. 

"I think, " he said when Leonard had finished, "that, subject to thoseinquiries of which you yourself have pointed out the necessity in sograve a matter, I may accept it as proved that you are none other thanMr. Leonard Outram, or rather, " he added, correcting himself, "if, as Iunderstand, your elder brother Thomas is dead, than Sir Leonard Outram. Indeed you have so entirely convinced me that this is the case, that Ihave no hesitation in placing in your hands a letter addressed to youby the late Lady Cohen, and deposited with me together with the executedwill; though, when you have read it, I shall request you to leave thatletter with me for the present. 

"By the way, it may interest you to learn, " Mr. Turner added, as he wentto a safe built into the wall and unlocked its iron door, "that we havebeen hunting for you for a year or more. We even sent a man to SouthAfrica, and he tracked you to a spot in some mountains somewhere northof Delagoa Bay, where it was reported that you, with your brother Thomasand two friends, were digging for gold. He reached the spot on the nightof the ninth of May last year. "

"The very day that I left it, " broke in Leonard. 

"And found the site of your camp and three graves. At first ourrepresentative thought that you were all dead, but afterwards he fellin with a native who appears to have deserted from your service, and whotold him that one of the brothers was dying when he left the camp, butone was still in good health, though he did not know where he had gone. "

"My brother Thomas died on the first of May--this day year, " saidLeonard. 

"After that all trace of you was lost, but I still kept on advertising, for missing people have a wonderful way of turning up to claim fortunes, and you see the result. Here is the letter, Sir Leonard. "

Leonard took the document and looked at it, while strange feelingscrowded into his mind. This was the first letter that he had everreceived from Jane Beach; also it was the last that he ever couldreceive. 

"Before I open this, Mr. Turner, " he said, "for my own satisfactionI may as well ask you to compare the handwriting of the address withanother specimen of it that chances to be in my possession"; andproducing the worn prayer-book from his pocket--Jane's parting gift--heopened it at the fly-leaf, and pointed out the inscription to thelawyer, placing the envelope beside it. 

Mr. Turner took a reading-glass and examined first one writing and thenthe other. 

"These words appear to have been written by the same hand, " he saidpresently. "Lady Cohen's writing was peculiar, and it is difficult tobe mistaken on the point, though I am no expert. To free you fromresponsibility, with your consent I myself will open this letter, " andhe slit the envelope at the top with an ivory paper-knife, and, drawingout its contents, he handed them to Leonard. They ran thus:

"My dearest Leonard, --For so I, who am no longer a wife, may call youwithout shame, seeing that you are in truth the dearest to my heart, whether you be still living, or dead like my husband and my child. 

"The will which I am to sign to-morrow will prove to you if you are yetalive, as I believe to be the case, how deep is my anxiety that that youshould re-enter into possession of the ancestral home of which fortunehas deprived you. It is with the greatest pleasure that I make you thisbequest, and I can do so with a clear conscience, for my late husbandhas left everything at my absolute disposal--being himself without nearrelations--in the sad event which has occurred, of the death of hisdaughter, our only child. 

"May you live long enough to enjoy the lands and fortune which I amenabled thus to return to your family, and may your children and theirdescendants sit at Outram for many a generation to come!

"And now I will talk no more of this matter, for I have an explanationto make and a pardon to ask. 

"It may well be, Leonard, that when your eyes fall upon these lines, youwill have forgotten me--most deservedly--and have found some other womanto love you. No, as I set this down I feel that it is not true; you willnever forget me altogether, Leonard--your first love--and no other womanwill ever be quite the same to you as I have been; or, at least, so Ibelieve in my foolishness and vanity. 

"You will ask what explanation is possible after the way in which I havetreated you, and the outrage that I have done to my own love. Such as itis, however, I offer it to you. 

"I was driven into this marriage, Leonard, by my late father, who couldbe very cruel when he chose. To admit this is, as I know, a proof ofweakness. So be it, I have never concealed from myself that I am weak. Yet, believe me, I struggled while I could; I wrote to you even, butthey intercepted my letter; and I told all the truth to Mr. Cohen, but he was self-willed and passionate, and would take no heed of mypleading. So I married him, Leonard, and was fairly happy with him, forhe was kindness itself to me, but from that hour I began to die. 

"And now more than six years have passed since the night of our partingin the snow, and the end is at hand, for I am really dying. It haspleased God to take my little daughter, and this last shock proved morethan I can bear, and so I go to join her and to wait with her till suchtime as I shall once more see your unforgotten face. 

"That is all that I have to say, dear Leonard. 

"Pardon me, and I am selfish enough to add--do not forget me. 

"JANE. 

"P. S. --Why is it that an affection like ours, which has never bornefruit even, should in the end prove stronger than any other earthly tie?Heaven knows, and Heaven alone, how passionately I loved and love mydead child; and yet, now that my own hour is at hand, it is of _you_that I think the most, you who are neither child nor husband. I supposethat I shall understand ere long, but, O Leonard, Leonard, Leonard, if, as I believe, my nature is immortal, I swear that such love as minefor you, however much it be dishonoured and betrayed, is still the mostimmortal part of it!--J. "

Leonard put down the letter on the table, and again he covered his facewith his hand to hide his emotion, for his feelings overcame him as asense of the depth and purity of this dead woman's undying love sankinto his heart. 

"May I read that letter, Leonard?" asked Juanna in a quiet voice. 

"Yes, I suppose so, dear, if you like, " he answered, feeling dully thatit was better to make a clean breast of the matter at once, and thus toprevent future misunderstandings. 

Juanna took the letter and perused it twice, by which time she knew itas well as she did the Lord's Prayer, nor did she ever forget a singleword of it. Then she handed it back to the lawyer, saying nothing. 

"I understand, " said Mr. Turner, breaking in on a silence which he feltto be painful, "that you will be able to produce the necessary proofs ofidentity within the next few days, and then we can get the will provedin the usual form. Meanwhile, you must want money, which I will take therisk of advancing you, " and he wrote a cheque for a hundred pounds andgave it to Leonard. 

Half an hour later Leonard and Juanna were alone in a room at theirhotel, but as yet scarcely a word had passed between them since theyleft the lawyer's office. 

"Don't you see, Leonard, " his wife said almost fiercely, "it is mostamusing, you made a mistake. Your brother's dying prophecy was like aDelphic oracle--it could be taken two ways, and, of course, you adoptedthe wrong interpretation. You left Grave Mountain a day too soon. It wasby _Jane Beach's_ help that you were to recover Outram, not by mine, "and she laughed sadly. 

"Don't talk like that, dear, " said Leonard in a sad voice; "it painsme. "

"How else am I to talk after reading that letter?" she answered, "forwhat woman can hold her own against a dead rival? Now also I must beindebted to her bounty all my days. Oh! if I had not lost the jewels--ifonly I had not lost the jewels!"

History does not relate how Leonard dealt with this unexpected and yetnatural situation. 

A week had passed and Leonard, with Juanna at his side, found himselfonce more in the great hall at Outram, where, on a bygone night, manyyears ago, he and his dead brother had sworn their oath. All was thesame, for in this hall nothing had been changed--Jane had seen to that. There chained to its stand was the Bible, upon which they had registeredtheir vow; there were the pictures of his ancestors gazing down calmlyupon him, as though they cared little for the story of his struggles andof his strange triumph over fortune "by the help of a woman. " Therewas the painted window, with its blazoned coats of arms and its proudmottoes--"_For Heart, Home, and Honour_, " and "_Per ardua ad astra_. " Hehad won the heart and home, and he had kept his honour and his oath. Hehad endured the toils and dangers and the crown of stars was his. 

And yet, was Leonard altogether happy as he stood looking on thesefamiliar things? Perhaps not quite, for yonder in the churchyard therewas a grave, and within the church a monument in white marble, that waswonderfully like one who had loved him and whom he had loved, thoughtime and trouble had written a strange difference on her face. Also, hehad failed: he had kept his oath indeed and fought on till the end waswon, but himself he had not won it. What now was his had once belongedto his successful rival, who doubtless little dreamed of the paymentthat would be exacted from him by the decree of fate. 

And was Juanna happy? She knew well that Leonard loved her truly;but oh! it was cruel that she who had shared the struggles should bedeprived of her reward--that it should be left to another, who if notfalse had at least been weak, to give to her husband that which she hadstriven so hard to win--that which she had won--and lost. And harderstill was it that in this ancient place which would henceforth be herhome, by day and by night she must feel the presence of the shadow of awoman, a woman sweet and pale, who, as she believed, stood between herand that which she desired above all things--the complete and absolutepossession of her husband's heart. 

Doubtless she overrated the trouble; men and women do not spend theirlives in brooding upon the memories of their first loves--if they did, this would be a melancholy world. But to Juanna it was real enough, and remained so for some years. And if a thing is true to the heart, itavails little that reason should give it the lie. 

In short, now in the hour of their full property, Leonard and Juannawere making acquaintance with the fact that fortune never gives withboth hands, as the French say, but loves to rob with one while shebestows with the other. To few is it allowed to be completely miserable, to none to be completely happy. Their good luck had been so overwhelmingin many ways, that it would have partaken of the unnatural, and mightwell have excited their fears for the future, had its completeness beenunmarred by these drawbacks which, such as they were, probably theylearned to disremember as the years passed over them bringing them newtrials and added blessings. 

Perhaps a peep into the future will tell us the rest of the storyof Leonard and Juanna Outram better and more truly than any furtherchronicling of events. 

Ten years or so have gone by and Sir Leonard, now a member of Parliamentand the Lord-Lieutenant of his county, comes out of church on the firstSunday in May accompanied by his wife, the stateliest matron in thecountry-side, and some three or four children, boys and girls together, as healthy as they are handsome. After a glance at a certain grave thatlies near to the chancel door, they walk homewards across the buddingpark in the sweet spring afternoon, till, a hundred yards or more fromthe door of Outram Hall, they pause at the gates of a dwelling known as"The Kraal, " shaped like a beehive, fashioned of straw and sticks, andbuilt by the hands of Otter alone. 

Basking in the sunshine in front of this hut sits the dwarf himself, cutting broom-sticks with a knife out of the straightest of a bundle ofash saplings that lie beside him. He is dressed in a queer mixture ofnative and European costume, but otherwise time has wrought no change inhim. 

"Greeting, Baas, " he says as Leonard comes up. "Is Baas Wallace hereyet?"

"No, he will be down in time for dinner. Mind that you are there towait, Otter. "

"I shall not be late, Baas, on this day of all days. "

"Otter, " cries a little maid, "you should not make brown-sticks onSunday, it is very wrong. "

The dwarf grins by way of answer, then speaks to Leonard in a tonguethat none but he can understand. 

"What did I tell you many years ago, Baas?" he says. "Did I not tellyou that by this way or by that you should win the wealth, and thatthe great kraal across the water should be yours again, and that thechildren of strangers should wander there no more? See, it has cometrue, " and he points to the happy group of youngsters. "_Wow!_ I, otter, who am a fool in most things, have proved to be the best of prophets. Yet I will rest content and prophesy no more, lest I should lose my namefor wisdom. "

A few hours later and dinner is over in the larger hall. All theservants have gone except Otter, who dressed in a white smock standsbehind his master's chair. There is no company present save Mr. Wallace, who has just returned from another African expedition, and sits smilingand observant, his eyeglass fixed in his eye as of yore. Juanna isarrayed in full evening dress, however, and a great star ruby blazesupon her breast. 

"Why have you got the red stone on to-night, mother?" asks her eldestson Thomas, who with his two sisters has come down to desert. 

"Hush, dear, " she answers, as Otter advances to that stand on which theBible is chained, holding a glass filled with port in his hand. 

"Deliverer and Shepherdess, " he says, speaking in Sisutu, "on this dayeleven years gone Baas Tom died out yonder; I, who drink wine but once ayear, drink to the memory of Baas Tom, and to our happy meeting with himin the gold House of the Great-Great"; and swallowing the port witha single gulp Otter throws the glass behind him, shattering it on thefloor. 

"Amen, " says Leonard. "Now, love, your toast. "

"I drink to the memory of Francisco who died to save me, " says Juanna ina low voice. 

"Amen, " repeats her husband. 

For a moment there is silence, for Leonard gives no toast; then the boyThomas lifts his glass and cries, "And I drink to Olfan, the king of the People of the Mist, and to Otter, who killed the Snake-god, and whom I love the best of all of them. Mother, may Otter get the spear and the rope and tell us the story ofhow he dragged you and father up the ice-bridge?"