with
absolute amazement. He said that he would never have thought it possible
that such accuracy could have been reached by an artist working in so
hard a material.

When the others had arrived we studied this relic as closely as our
two candles would allow, and in turn expressed our opinions of its
significance. Bastin thought that if those things down there were really
the remains of aeroplanes, which he did not believe, the statue had
something to do with flying, as was shown by the fact that it had wings
on its head and shoulders. Also, he added, after examining the face, the
head was uncommonly like that of the idol that he had blown up. It had
the same long nose and severe shut mouth. If he was right, this was
probably another effigy of Oro which we should do well to destroy at
once before the islanders came to worship it.

Bickley ground his teeth as he listened to him.

"Destroy that!" he gasped. "Destroy! Oh! you, you--early Christian."

Here I may state that Bastin was quite right, as we proved subsequently
when we compared the head of the fetish, which, as it will be
remembered, he had brought away with him, with that of the statue.
Allowing for an enormous debasement of art, they were essentially
identical in the facial characteristics. This would suggest the descent
of a tradition through countless generations. Or of course it may have
been accidental. I am sure I do not know, but I think it possible that
for unknown centuries other old statues may have existed in Orofena from
which the idol was copied. Or some daring and impious spirit may have
found his way to the cave in past ages and fashioned the local god upon
this ancient model.

Bickley was struck at once, as I had been, with the resemblance of the
figure to that of the Egyptian Osiris. Of course there were differences.
For instance, instead of the crook and the scourge, this divinity held
a torch. Again, in place of the crown of Egypt it wore a winged
head-dress, though it is true this was not very far removed from the
winged disc of that country. The wings that sprang from its shoulders,
however, suggested Babylonia rather than Egypt, or the Assyrian bulls
that are similarly adorned. All of these symbolical ideas might have
been taken from that figure. But what was it? What was it?

In a flash the answer came to me. A representation of the spirit of
Death! Neither more nor less. There was the shroud; there the cold,
inscrutable countenance