le the other hung rigidly to his
side. But the glare which came from the torches which several of the
Tamils had affixed to their spears revealed to us no view of the face of
the one sitting there, for, over it, to prevent this, was a hideous
mask, somewhat similar to that which exorcists wear in many Eastern
countries. The nose was perfectly flat, from the sides of the head large
ears protruded, huge tusks took the place of teeth, while the leering
eyes were made of some reddish, glassy substance, the entire mask
presenting a most repulsive appearance, being evidently intended to
strike terror into those who beheld it. The strangest part of the scene
was that one of the Tamils stood close by the side of the masked
monarch, and seemed to act as interpreter, for the ruler never spoke,
although the questions put by his subject soon convinced us that we were
likely to have to fight our way out of the power of the savage horde.

"The Great Tamil would know why ye dared to land upon his sacred
shores?" the fierce interpreter asked us. Denviers turned to Hassan, and
said:--

"Tell the Great Tamil who hides his ugly face behind this mask that his
treacherous subject brought us, and that we want to leave his shores as
soon as we can." Hassan responded to the question, then the savage
asked:--

"Will ye present your belts and weapons to the Great Tamil as a peace
offering?" We looked at the savage in surprise for a moment, wondering
if he shrewdly guessed that we had anything valuable concealed there. We
soon conjectured rightly that this was only a ruse on his part to disarm
us, and Hassan was instructed to say that we never gave away our weapons
or belts to friends or foes.

"Then the Great Tamil orders that ye be imprisoned in the cavern from
which ye have come into his presence until ye fulfil his command," said
the one who was apparently employed as interpreter to the motionless
ruler. We signified our readiness to return to the cave, for we thought
that if attacked there we should have enemies only in front of us,
whereas at that moment we were entirely surrounded. The fierce guards as
they conducted us back endeavoured to incite us to an attack, for they
several times viciously struck us with the butts of their spears, but,
following Denviers' example, I managed to restrain my anger, waiting for
a good opportunity to amply repay them for the insult.

[Illustration: "THE GREAT TAMIL."]

"What a strange ruler, Harold