dies rolled over him--
striving, cursing, struggling, stabbing--then half stumbled, half rolled
away into the gloom beyond.

The others bethought them of their candles, which, up till now, had been
kept unused. Quickly two of them were produced and lighted.

The din of the scuffle seemed to be receding further and further; nor in
the faint and flickering impression cast upon the cavernous gloom by the
light of the candles could anything be seen of the combatants. But that
the scuffle was a hard and fierce one was evident from the sounds.

Just then Eustace succeeded in opening the lantern slide, and now they
were able to advance boldly in the strong disk of light. The latter
revealed the object of their search.

Rolling over and over each other were two dark bodies, one now
uppermost, now the other. Both seemed equally matched; even if in point
of sheer physical strength the advantage did not lie slightly with the
witch-doctress, for Josane, though wiry and active, was a good deal
older than he looked. Each firmly gripped the other's right wrist, for
the purpose of preventing the use of the broad-bladed, murderous assegai
with which the right hand of each was armed. Victory would lie with
whoever could hold out the longest.

As soon as the light fell upon the two struggling bodies, the
witch-doctress threw all her energies into afresh and violent effort.
She seemed to divine that the new arrivals would refrain from shooting
at her for fear of injuring Josane. So she redoubled her struggles and
kicked and bit and tore like one possessed.

"Keep her in that position a moment, Josane," sung out Hoste. "I'll put
a hunk of lead through the devil's carcase. There--so!"

But it was not to be. With a supreme effort she wrenched her wrist free
from her opponent's grasp, and turning with the rapidity of a cat,
leaped out of sight in the darkness. But a moment later she stumbled
over a boulder and sprawled headlong. Before she could rise her pursuer
was upon her and had stabbed her twice through the body with his
assegai.

"Ha! Spawn of a Fingo dog!" cried Josane, his voice assuming a fierce,
throaty growl in the delirious satiety of his vengeance. "I am Josane--
whom thou wouldst have thrown to the serpents, as thou didst this white
man--ha! whom thou wouldst have given alive to feed the black ants, as
thou didst Vudana, my kinsman. Ha! I am Josane, who was eaten up at
thy accursed bidding. Ha! But I li