"Because of me, of course."
"Of course," I echoed. "But he is not jealous of me, for instance?"
"Oh, no," she answered frankly. "He is jealous of Tawannears."
She pronounced the Seneca's name with a delicious lisp.
"Is he your lover?"
"He wants to be." She became confidential. "He has been this way since he succeeded his father as Priest of Yoki and Voice of Chua.* He has brought rain two years running now, and everybody says how mighty a priest and spell-master he is. But Wiki says I must serve him first of all as Sacred Dancer, for Massi sent me direct to him and not to Kokyan. Besides, I don't like Kokyan. He is a good warrior and a clever priest—but I don't like him."
* The Snake.
"Is Kokyan Chief Priest?"
"How ignorant you are, Englishman! Of course not! Wiki is chief priest—and Angwusi is priestess of Tawa, the Sun, the Giver-of-Life. Kokyan is only priest of Yoki. But when a priest of Yoki is as successful as he is, he becomes really as important as the chief priest and the priestess. And then Kokyan has been telling the young men how much better things would go if he was chief priest or had more influence in the Council."
"But what does your chief say to all this?" I questioned.