his master.

"They bought her from old Kovudoo," he said. "That is all that this
fellow will tell me. He pretends that he knows nothing more, and I
guess that he does not. These two white men were very bad men. They
did many things that their boys knew not the meanings of. It would be
well, Bwana, to kill the other."

"I wish that I might; but a new law is come into this part of the
jungle. It is not as it was in the old days, Muviri," replied the
master.

The stranger remained until Malbihn and his safari had disappeared into
the jungle toward the north. Meriem, trustful now, stood at his side,
Geeka clutched in one slim, brown hand. They talked together, the man
wondering at the faltering Arabic of the girl, but attributing it
finally to her defective mentality. Could he have known that years had
elapsed since she had used it until she was taken by the Swedes he
would not have wondered that she had half forgotten it. There was yet
another reason why the language of The Sheik had thus readily eluded
her; but of that reason she herself could not have guessed the truth
any better than could the man.

He tried to persuade her to return with him to his "village" as he
called it, or douar, in Arabic; but she was insistent upon searching
immediately for Korak. As a last resort he determined to take her with
him by force rather than sacrifice her life to the insane hallucination
which haunted her; but, being a wise man, he determined to humor her
first and then attempt to lead her as he would have her go. So when
they took up their march it was in the direction of the south, though
his own ranch lay almost due east.

By degrees he turned the direction of their way more and more eastward,
and greatly was he pleased to note that the girl failed to discover
that any change was being made. Little by little she became more
trusting. At first she had had but her intuition to guide her belief
that this big Tarmangani meant her no harm, but as the days passed and
she saw that his kindness and consideration never faltered she came to
compare him with Korak, and to be very fond of him; but never did her
loyalty to her apeman flag.

On the fifth day they came suddenly upon a great plain and from the
edge of the forest the girl saw in the distance fenced fields and many
buildings. At the sight she drew back in astonishment.

"Where are we?" she asked, pointing.

"We could not find Korak," replied the man, "and as