Chekolana, the king's headman, watched her curiously, but no more dispassionate was the face her husband turned upon her.
"Kira," he said, "though you hate me, I love you. Though I die for this at the hands of the king, I love you."
She laughed aloud.
She was safe—and N'mika was afraid. Her outstretched finger almost touched his face.
"Tell this to the king," she cried, "N'mika is Sandi's man, and knows his heart——"
The headman, Chekolana, made a step forward and peered into N'mika's face.
"If this is true," he said, "you shall tell Bimebibi all he desires to know. Say, N'mika, how many men of the Ochori hold the border?"
N'mika laughed.
"Ask Sandi that," he said.
"Lord! lord!"—it was the woman, her eyes blazing—"this I will tell you, if you put my man away. On the border there is——"