er,
but I was certain that it would be none the worse for that. Forgetting
the danger of the deed, in my excitement I actually ran right across
the open space, and drawing my knife scratched vigorously at one of the
great tusks to see how deep the damage might be. As I thought, it was
nothing; there beneath the black covering gleamed the pure white ivory.
I could have capered for joy, for I fear that I am very mercenary at
heart, when suddenly I heard the faint echo of a cry for assistance.
'Help!' screamed a voice in the Sisutu dialect from somewhere behind the
hut; 'help! they are murdering me.'

"_I knew the voice_; it was John Every's. Oh, what a selfish brute was
I! For the moment that miserable ivory had driven the recollection of
him out of my head, and now--perhaps it was too late.

"Nala, Maiwa, and the soldiers had now come up. They too heard the voice
and interpreted its tone, though they had not caught the words.

"'This way,' cried Maiwa, and we started at a run, passing round the hut
of Wambe. Behind was the narrow entrance to a cave. We rushed through
it heedless of the danger of the ambush, and this is what we saw, though
very confusedly at first, owing to the gloom.

"In the centre of the cave, and with either end secured to the floor by
strong stakes, stood a huge double-springed lion trap edged with sharp
and grinning teeth. It was set, and beyond the trap, indeed almost over
it, a terrible struggle was in progress. A naked or almost naked white
man, with a great beard hanging down over his breast, in spite of his
furious struggles, was being slowly forced and dragged towards the trap
by six or eight women. Only one man was present, a fat, cruel-looking
man with small eyes and a hanging lip. It was the chief Wambe, and he
stood by the trap ready to force the victim down upon it so soon as the
women had dragged him into the necessary position.

"At this instant they caught sight of us, and there came a moment's
pause, and then, before I knew what she was going to do, Maiwa lifted
the assegai she still held, and whirled it at Wambe's head. I saw the
flash of light speed towards him, and so did he, for he stepped backward
to avoid it--stepped backward right into the trap. He yelled with pain
as the iron teeth of the 'Thing that bites' sprang up with a rattling
sound like living fangs and fastened into him--such a yell I have not
often heard. Now at last he tasted of the torture which he had inflicted