ehind her, and with her shoulder against the
door attempted to reclose it.

"Go away!" she cried. "I shall be killed if you awaken Oda Yorimoto,
and, if you enter, you, too, shall be killed."

The man stepped back from the door, and Barbara could hear him in low
converse with some of the women of the household. A moment later he
returned, and without a word of warning threw his whole weight against
the portal. The corpse slipped back enough to permit the entrance of the
man's body, and as he stumbled into the room the long sword of the Lord
of Yoka fell full and keen across the back of his brown neck.

Without a sound he lunged to the floor, dead; but the women without
had caught a fleeting glimpse of what had taken place within the little
chamber, even before Barbara Harding could slam the door again, and
with shrieks of rage and fright they rushed into the main street of the
village shouting at the tops of their voices that Oda Yorimoto and Hawa
Nisho had been slain by the woman of the sei-yo-jin.

Instantly, the village swarmed with samurai, women, children, and dogs.
They rushed toward the hut of Oda Yorimoto, filling the outer chamber
where they jabbered excitedly for several minutes, the warriors
attempting to obtain a coherent story from the moaning women of the
daimio's household.

Barbara Harding crouched close to the door, listening. She knew that the
crucial moment was at hand; that there were at best but a few moments
for her to live. A silent prayer rose from her parted lips. She placed
the sharp point of Oda Yorimoto's short sword against her breast, and
waited--waited for the coming of the men from the room beyond, snatching
a few brief seconds from eternity ere she drove the weapon into her
heart.

Theriere plunged through the jungle at a run for several minutes before
he caught sight of the mucker.

"Are you still on the trail?" he called to the man before him.

"Sure," replied Byrne. "It's dead easy. They must o' been at least a
dozen of 'em. Even a mutt like me couldn't miss it."

"We want to go carefully, Byrne," cautioned Theriere. "I've had
experience with these fellows before, and I can tell you that you never
know when one of 'em is near you till you feel a spear in your back,
unless you're almighty watchful. We've got to make all the haste we can,
of course, but it won't help Miss Harding any if we rush into an ambush
and get our heads lopped off."

Byrne saw the wisdom of his comp