“Stop!” shouted the white man. “Stop, Bird of Death! Go!” he cried.
As if balked of its prey, the great creature of the air seemed to pause. Then, with an almost human snarl, it shot to the left, circled over the pool and began to mount the skies in apparent flight.
For a moment the sobs and cries of the prostrate were all that could be heard. The ruler of the tropic key still stood, but shaking in terror.
“White man go,” he mumbled at last. But his defiance was gone. “Cajou no got white man’s pearl.”
“You lie!” exclaimed the Englishman. Then he held out his hand. “Give!” he commanded. His tone seemed to wound the black man. “No?” he added fiercely, as Cajou only cringed.
“Cajou no pearl, no thief,” at last began the African.
“Come, Bird of Death,” cried the white man once more. “Eat the women and children of the great thief. Come!”
