"Did you ever see an old man wandering in the jungle," continued King, "an old man who wore a long yellow cloak and carried a red parasol?"
"Of course," replied Che, "and you saw him, too. It was Vay Thon, whom you saved from the charge of My Lord the Tiger."
King looked at the native in open-mouthed astonishment. "Have you had a touch of fever too, Che?" he asked.
"No," replied the native. "Che is a strong man; he is never ill."
"No," Kangrey said proudly. "Che is a very strong man. In all the years that I have known him, he has never been ill."
"Did you see this old man with the yellow cloak and the red parasol, Kangrey?" asked King, sceptically.
"Of course I did. Why do you ask?" inquired the woman.
"And you saw me kill the tiger?" demanded the American.
"I did not see you kill him; but I heard a great noise, and I saw him after he had died. There was a little round hole just behind his left ear; and when Che cut him open to see why he died, he found a piece of metal in his brain, the same metal that the walls of the palace of Lodivarman are covered with."
"That is lead," said Che with an air of superiority.