The old men looked puzzled, and glanced sharply from their little black
eyes at their prisoners.

"We thought nothing existed outside the hedge of Twi," they answered,
simply. "But your presence here proves we were wrong. Eh! Ki-Ki?"

This last was again directed toward the pair of musicians, who
continued to play and only nodded quietly, as before.

"Now that you are here," said the twin Ki, stroking their two gray
beards with their two left hands in a nervous way, "it must be evident
to you that you do not belong here. Therefore you must go back through
the hedge again and stay on the other side. Eh, Ki-Ki?"

The Ki-Ki still continued playing, but now spoke the first words the
prisoners had heard from them.

"They must die," said the Ki-Ki, in soft and agreeable voices.

"Die!" echoed the twin Ki, "die? Great Kika-koo! And why so?"

"Because, if there is a world on the other side of the hedge, they
would tell on their return all about the Land of Twi, and others of
their kind would come through the hedge from curiosity and annoy us.
We can not be annoyed. We are busy."

Having delivered this speech both the Ki-Ki went on playing the new
tune, as if the matter was settled.

"Nonsense!" retorted the old Ki, angrily. "You are getting more and
more bloodthirsty every day, our sweet and gentle Ki-Ki! But we are
the Ki--and we say the prisoners shall not die!"

"We say they shall!" answered the youthful Ki-Ki, nodding their two
heads at the same time, with a positive motion. "You may be the Ki,
but we are the Ki-Ki, and your superior."

"Not in this case," declared the old men. "Where life and death are
concerned we have equal powers with you."

"And if we disagree?" asked the players, gently.

"Great Kika-koo! If we disagree the High Ki must judge between us!"
roared the twin Ki, excitedly.

"Quite so," answered the Ki-Ki. "The strangers shall die."

"They shall not die!" stormed the old men, with fierce gestures toward
the others, while both pairs of black eyes flashed angrily.

"Then we disagree, and they must be taken to the High Ki," returned the
blond musicians, beginning to play another tune.

The two Ki rose from their thrones, paced two steps to the right and
three steps to the left, and then sat down again.

"Very well!" they said to the captains, who had listened unmoved to the
quarrel of the rulers; "keep these half-men safe prisoners until
to-morrow morning, and then the Ki