"They are now on their way hither," replied Hanno; "and the very object with which the Suomi propose to sacrifice you is to propitiate their god, so that he may vouchsafe them the victory."
Hannibal burst out enthusiastically:
"I knew our fellows would come to our defence; brave souls they are! we'll conquer yet!"
"Not so fast," was the reply; "you must be content to leave everything to me. I will send a message to Hamilcar and Hasdrubal. See now; I have my writing materials ready; I made myself a calamus from the marsh-reeds; my ink is some of the Suomi war-paint; and for papyrus I have a piece of deer-skin."
Hanno wrote and talked at once; and as soon as he had finished he turned to us:
"Now then, follow me to the temple. You need be under no apprehension yet. I will take care that the god shall declare that he does not require your lives at present. This will give some hours' respite. In the interval I shall be able, I trust, to send my letter to our friends. Let us go: but one more word of caution; you must be careful above all things not to laugh at any of our proceedings."
"You will have to conjure pretty cleverly," I said, "if you are going to conjure us out of this dilemma."
"Well, you know," he said with a smile, "I have had some education in this line. I have learnt a bit of the craft of a priest and a magician; though I acknowledge I did not anticipate that I should have to practise under the present circumstances."
Taking his torch, he led the way; and with downcast eyes, and much to the amazement of some savages who were waiting outside, we filed demurely after him.
The island which we proceeded to cross was considerably larger than it had at first sight appeared. The huts were arranged in irregular clusters, each group surrounded by its own palisade. The road was very dark, and we had to ford a number of pools of water, while the rain splashed heavily down upon our bare heads. After winding through the labyrinth of huts, we reached an open place in the heart of the village, lighted with torches, and thronged with a crowd of Suomi, armed and coloured with their paint. The central hut into which we were conducted was much larger than the others, and served the purpose of a temple; it was circular, and had the appearance of a gigantic beehive. The interior was lighted with torches, and with pans of oil, furnished with flaming wicks, which had been made of bark; it was crowded with the savages, and what with the fumes of the torches, the vile odour of the burning oil, and the stench of the grease with which the savages had smeared their bodies, the atmosphere of the place was positively sickening.