e was to take her there and kill her,
then hide the body so no one would know what had happened to her."

Jotan paled. "Where is this house of Rydob?"

Fordak gave directions. When he had finished, Jotan said: "Tamar, get
three or four of our men and meet Javan and me at the Gate of the
Setting Sun. Hurry!"

Tamar went out.

"Get our weapons together, Javan," Jotan ordered. "We'll meet the others
at the gate."

Javan was slow to comprehend. "Where are we going?"

"Into the jungle," said Jotan evenly. "To the house of Rydob!"

* * * * *

Alurna had slept well during the mid-day heat. When she awakened, her
first thought was of Meltor and his errand. Lying there, the room
darkened against the blazing sun, she allowed herself to think of Jotan,
smiling when she realized he was free, now, to fall in love with her. No
longer was there a barbarian slave-girl to blind him to the beauty and
charm of Urim's daughter.

After a while she sat up, stretched her soft muscles with all the sleek
satisfaction of a jungle cat, and summoned Anela.

The slave-girl was aiding her in effecting a leisurely toilet a little
later, when a brief rap sounded at the door.

"That must be Meltor," Alurna said contentedly. "Let him in, Anela."

But when the door was opened, it was another man who stood there, his
tunic torn and stained, his broad plump face lined with suffering.

"It's Fordak!" cried Anela.

The man staggered to a stool and dropped onto it, exhausted.

"I came as soon as I could, princess," he babbled. "I came to tell you
so you would not punish me. They forced me to tell; they burned me until
I told them. I would have come sooner, but the ropes were tight."

Alurna shut him off with a gesture. "What are you trying to tell me?"
she demanded. "_Who_ made you tell _what_?"

"The men from Ammad." Fordak was beginning to gain control over his
shaken nerves. "Jotan and Tamar and Javan. They tortured me until I told
them where Meltor had taken the slave-girl."

Rapidly he related all that had taken place in the visitors' apartment.
Being no fool, he exaggerated the amount of suffering he had endured;
thus might the heart of Alurna be touched with pity.

When Fordak was done, Alurna went to the window and stood there, her
back to the others, staring into the grounds below. What was she to do?
Jotan was already on his way to the house of Rydob. If Meltor had wasted
no time, Jotan could not