ed under the
force of the blow, and with a stifled shriek and an appealing cry to
"Halold," reeled backward, and fell to the ground inside the hut.
Meanwhile, the savage, leaving the javelin quivering in the body of his
victim, turned to meet me, snatching another javelin with his right hand
from his left at the same instant; and as he did so I recognised our
former enemy, the fetish-man or witch-doctor of Daphne's village. I was
by this time within arm's-length of him, and, quick as light, he made a
lunge at me. By a happy chance I succeeded in parrying the stroke with
the blow-pipe which I held in my left hand, and then, springing in upon
him, I dealt him so tremendous a blow with my heavy, knotted, hard-wood
club that his skull crashed under it like an egg-shell, and he fell a
brainless corpse at my feet.

Entering the hut I found Smellie on his knees beside the lifeless body
of Daphne.

"Too late, Hawkesley! you were just too late to save this poor devoted
girl," he murmured. "Only a few seconds earlier, and you would have
been in time to arrest the murderous blow. She is quite dead; indeed
her death must have been instantaneous. See, the blade of the javelin
is quite a foot long, and it was completely buried in her body; it must
have passed clean through her heart. Poor girl! she was indeed faithful
unto death, for it was my life that yonder murderous wretch thirsted
for. You doubtless recognised him--the fetish-man who strove so hard to
terrify us on the night of the sacrifice in the village! I am convinced
that, in his anger and chagrin at our escape, he has patiently hunted us
down, determined to make us feel his vengeance in one way if he failed
in the other. Poor Daphne clearly read his intention, I am sure; and it
was her resistance, her defence of poor helpless me, that brought this
cruel death upon her. Well, God's will be done! The poor girl was only
an ignorant savage, and it is hardly possible that she can ever have
heard His holy name mentioned; but for all that she had pity upon the
stranger and him who had no helper, and I cannot but believe that she
will therefore receive her full reward. It only remains now to so
dispose of her body that it shall be secure from violation by the birds
of the air and the beasts of the field. But how is that to be done?"

He might well ask. We had neither shovel nor any other appliance
wherewith to dig a grave, and it was obviously impossible to do so w