id
the voice from within.

Ganassi! So this was the haunt! This lovely natural dwelling, the
dread Ganassi's home! Expectantly, Piang waited. Was Ganassi a man,
or was he only a voice, the heart of this banian-tree? While he stood
gazing at the tree, waiting for the spirit to address him, or the man
to appear, he was startled by a black, shiny head, and the loathsome
coils of a python, writhing in the branches. The serpent! Piang
had heard that it could fascinate animals, keeping them prisoner by
its mystic powers, until ready to devour them. Ganassi was, then,
an evil spirit in the form of a serpent! Piang uttered a low cry.

"So, my little pet, you have frightened Piang, the charm boy! You
must not do that."

The snake, responding to the voice, stuck its head through the foliage
and slipped from sight.

The voice! The voice! It had called him the charm boy! Piang's fear
abated, and he said tremblingly:

"O great Ganassi, will you not show yourself to me,
Piang?" Breathlessly the boy listened. The branches swayed, parted,
and the mina-bird floated through. The python, head erect, followed,
and next came the graceful white form of his first friend. On its
neck it supported a weird creature. Bent and wrinkled, was the
little old man; a few strands of white hair flowed from his chin,
and his eyebrows and lashes had almost disappeared. Toothless, almost
hairless as he was, there was that about Ganassi that precluded horror,
for his sparkling eyes were kind, and his mouth gently curved into
a smile. Piang fell on his knees. The hermit surrounded by his pets,
advanced and raised the boy.

"My little Piang! So you have come to Ganassi at last. He has known
for many years that you would come. Long before you were born he knew,
and his heart is glad to welcome you."

"Is it true, O wise man, that I am the real charm boy, and that I
shall lead Kali Pandapatan's tribe to victory?"

"You have spoken, my son. It was over you, not the impostor, Sicto,
that the mystic star hovered on the night of your birth."

At the mention of his enemy's name, Piang quickly scanned the
surrounding jungle, but Ganassi's soft chuckle reassured him.

"Have no fear, child. Sicto can never harm you, nor will he ever reach
Ganassi. The python would smother him; the mina-bird would peck out
his eyes; the gentle fawn would lead him astray."

"How do you know all this, O Ganassi?"

"The question shall be answered, Piang, because you are char