e royal spear, and my great white shield,
the royal gift, I stood above the two scared and cowering slaves, ready
to give battle to this terror from the unseen world. And in the short
space of silence, of waiting, it seemed that I lived the space of my
whole life.

But as I thus waited there rang forth upon the night a shrill, wild
echoing yell--such a cry as might issue from the throat of one suffering
such unheard of torments as the mind of man could ever invent. It
pealed forth again louder, more quavering, rending the night with its
indescribable notes of terror and agony--and it rose from where we had
left the slave, Suru, to keep his grisly watch alone in the blackness of
the forest. There was silence, but immediately that was rent by another
sound--a terrible sound, too--the savage growling roars as of an
infuriated bull--receding further and further from the place whence the
death cry had arisen, together with a crashing sound as though a great
wind were rushing away further and further up the haunted valley.

For long did that fearful death-yell ring in my ears, as I stood
throughout the night watches, grasping my spear, every moment expecting
the onslaught of the thing--for, of course, it would return, where more
victims awaited. Then the thought came to me that it only dared attack
and slay the unarmed; that at the sight of a warrior like myself, armed
and ready for battle, it had retired to vent its rage upon an easier
prey; and this thought brought strength and encouragement, for I would
find no great difficulty in slaying such. But with the thought came
another. The two men of Hlatusa's band had been slain as easily and
mysteriously as the iron-working slaves--slain in broad daylight--and
they were well-armed warriors, and men of tried valour. In truth, the
undertaking seemed as formidable as ever.

Even that night came to an end, and the cheerfulness and warmth of the
newly-arisen sunbeams put heart even into the two badly-frightened
slaves; and, feeling strong in my presence, their fears yielded to
curiosity to learn the exact fate of Suru--not that any of us really
doubted what that fate had been.

With spear held ready, and none the less alert because it was day, and
the valley was now flooded with the broad light of the sun, I quickly
made my way down, followed by Jambula and the other, to where I had left
the slave the night before. It was as I thought. There he lay--dead;
crushed and cr