“Oh, Baas,” broke in Otter, “why did you not shoot that old medicine-man as I told you? It would have been easy when you were about it, Baas, and now he would have been broken like an eggshell thrown from a house-top, and not alive and full of the meat of malice. He is mad with rage and wickedness, and I say that he will kill us all if he can.”
“I rather wish I had,” said Leonard, pulling his beard. “I thought of it, but could not do everything; and on future occasions, Otter, will you remember that your name is Silence? Luckily, these people do not understand you: if they did you would ruin us all. What is the matter, Soa?”
“Nothing, Deliverer,” she answered; “only I was thinking that Nam is my father, and I am glad that you did not shoot him, as this black dog, who is named a god, suggests.”
“Of gods I know nothing, you old cow,” answered Otter angrily; “they are a far-off people, though it seems that I am one of them, at any rate among these fools, your kinsmen. But of dogs I can tell you something, and it is that they bite.”
“Yes, and cows toss dogs,” said Soa, showing her teeth.
“Here is another complication,” thought Leonard to himself; “one day this woman will make friends with her venerable parent and betray us, and then where shall we be? Well, among so many dangers an extra one does not matter.”
“I must go to bed,” said Juanna faintly; “my head is swimming. I cannot forget those horrors and that giddy place. When first I saw where I was, I nearly fainted and fell, but after a while I grew more used to it. Indeed, while I was speaking to the people I quite forgot my fear, and the height seemed to exhilarate me. What a sight it was! When all is said and done, it is a grand thing to have lived through such an experience. I wonder if anyone has ever seen its like.”
“You are a marvellous woman, Juanna,” said Leonard, with admiration. “We owe our lives to your wit and courage.”
“You see I was right in insisting on coming with you,” she answered somewhat aggressively.
“For our sakes, yes; for your own I am not so sure. To tell you the truth, I think that we should have done better never to have started on this mad expedition. However, things look a little more promising now, though Nam and his company have still to be reckoned with, and we don’t seem much nearer the rubies, which are our main object.”