unding forest,
causing a faint rustle, otherwise not a sound--not even the distant call
of a bird. Eustace, gazing upon the motionless dark forms that
surrounded him and upon the immeasurably repulsive figure of the
prostrate demoniac, felt that he could stand it no longer--that he must
do something to break that awful silence even though it should cost him
his life, when an interruption occurred, so sudden, so startling in its
unexpectedness, that he could hardly believe his eyes.

The witch-doctress, who had seemed prone in the powerlessness of extreme
exhaustion for hours at least, suddenly sprang to her feet with a
blood-curdling yell.

"The white wizard!" she shrieked. "The white wizard!"

"Ha! The white wizard! The white wizard!" echoed the warriors,
relieved that the storm had passed them by this time. "Let us see. Is
his charm too strong for Ngcenika?"

The time had come. Though unarmed, Eustace was still unbound.
Instinctively and warily he glanced around, eager to grasp at some means
of doing battle for his life. But no such means rewarded his glance.

Ngcenika walked up to one of the guards, and laid her hand on the bundle
of assegais which he carried. The man surrendered it with alacrity,
striving to conceal the apprehension which came over his features as he
came face to face with the terrible witch-doctress. She chose a
short-handled, broad-bladed stabbing assegai, examined it critically,
and returned to her former position.

Placing the weapon on the ground she proceeded to dance round it in a
circle, chanting a weird, droning incantation. The prisoner watched her
keenly. No attempt had been made to bind him. At last her song ceased.
Grasping the assegai in her powerful right hand, she advanced towards
Eustace.

At a sign from Ngcenika the guards fell back some twenty yards. Behind
them were the dense ranks of armed warriors, all craning eagerly forward
to watch what was to follow. At about the same distance in front sat
the group of chiefs and councillors, so that the prisoner and the
sorceress were completely hemmed in.

"White wizard--white dog!" she began, standing within striking distance.
"Wizard indeed! What is thy magic worth? Dost thou not fear me?"

Eustace, seeing through the repulsive mass of gew-gaws which represented
the juggling line of business, realised that he had to deal with a
powerful, broadly built, middle-aged woman of about five foot ten. She
looked har