on the trip to
sunrise. Hugh dozed at times despite the strain on his nerves. When at
last he arose to stretch himself, he saw the faint gray meeting and
mingling with the black in the skies, and knew that the crisis was
almost at hand.

Swiftly, silently through the darkness came six forms, hurrying from the
distant end of the pass with the alarm. They sped into the presence of
the king and Hugh just as the first gleam of light began to make itself
visible in the east. The messengers had seen the enemy, by that time
entering the pass from the north. In an instant Hugh's little army was
in a state of wild perturbation. One could have heard the gnashing of
teeth had he walked among the groups receiving final orders from King
Pootoo. Silence reigned again--the silence of death.

Something that sounded like the heavy breathing of a man came to the
ears of the waiters. It was the sweep of naked feet over the pebbly,
sandy bottom of the pass, the cautious movement of bodies through the
air, sounds growing plainer until they resembled the rustling of grass
through which a snake is gliding. To Hugh the intense moments seemed
like hours. Would they never come to view? Would the ambush succeed? Why
were they so slow? He could have gone ten miles while they were covering
the scant mile, he swore in his fever of anxiety.

At last the king pointed excitedly down the dark gulch, and, for the
first time, Ridgeway realized that he was facing an enemy in battle. His
eyes did not blink, so intently were they glued upon the dim, uncertain
objects that moved in the distance. The sword at his side was gripped in
a fierce but unconscious grasp. He placed his hand over his throbbing
heart; a damp chill seemed to break through every pore in his body.

"In five minutes this place will be hell!" he muttered, and the king
looked at him inquiringly.

Slowly the moving mass resolved itself into a thousand entities,
swarming towards the opening at the end of the pass. It required all of
his coolness and self-possession to control the wild impulse to begin
the fight long before the proper moment. To his surprise, not one of his
men moved from his position.

In advance of the main body of invaders was a small detachment of
scouts. Hugh saw that they would reach the trenches ahead of the army
and that the trap would be revealed. His heart almost failed him as he
looked down upon that now distinguishable mass crowding up through the
gorge. Ther