ked "the woman of the mountain,"
as I called her to myself, to let me give to her. She took them, and
thanked me. I stayed there that night, and the next day said good by
to the two strange women, and went down the mountain.

When I reached my house in the village I found my neighbors getting
ready to divide my property among themselves, since they were satisfied
I would never return to claim it. They did not think it strange that I
came back empty-handed. That I had come back at all was a wonder. For
the sake of the security of the two women I let it be known that I had
seen strange sights on the volcano's top, and that it was a perilous
journey to climb its sides.

I planned to stay in the village some weeks longer. My house, like
most of the native habitations, was built of bamboo, and was set upon
posts several feet above the ground. I lived alone. One night about
a month after my return, I woke from a sound sleep, choking.

Some one's hand was pressed tightly over my mouth, and another hand
on my breast held me down motionless upon my sleeping mat.

"Don't speak!" some one whispered into
my ear. "Don't make a sound! Lie perfectly
quiet until you understand all that I am
saying!

"The natives have banded themselves together to kill you tonight. They
believe the village has been cursed ever since you came down from
Mount Apo, and that you are the cause of it."

I could see now that there had been a growing coldness toward me on
the part of the people ever since I had come back. And there had
been evil luck, too. The chief's best horse had cast himself and
had to be killed. Two men out hunting had fallen into the hands of
a hostile tribe and been "boloed." Game had been unusually scarce,
and a "quago" bird had hooted three nights in succession.

"They are coming here tonight to burn your house," the same voice
whispered, "and kill you with their spears if you try to escape the
flames. No matter how I knew, or how we came. There is no time to
lose. You cannot stop to bring anything with you. Come outside the
house at once, as noiselessly as possible, and Elena will lead us to
where you can escape."

The hands were taken from my mouth and body, and I felt that I
was alone.

A few moments later, outside the house, when I stepped from the ladder
to the ground, a hand--a woman's hand--grasped mine firmly.

"Do not be afraid to follow," the same voice whispered. "Elena will
lead the way, and will tell us of an