"Behold!" cried Umballa later, as he entered the presence of the council, "behold a slave of mine!" He pushed Kathlyn forward. "This day I bought her for five thousand rupees."
The council stirred nervously.
"Do you not recognize her?" exultantly.
The council whispered to one another.
"Legally she is mine, though she has been a queen. But by running away she has forfeited her rights to the law of the ordeals. Am I not right?"
The council nodded gravely. They had not yet wholly recovered from their bewilderment.
"On the other hand, her identity must remain a secret till I have developed my plans," continued Umballa.
"You are all courting a terrible reprisal," said Kathlyn. "I beg of you to kill me at once; do not prolong my torture, my misery. I have harmed none of you, but you have grievously harmed me. One even now seeks aid of the British Raj; and there are many soldiers."
The threat was ill timed.
The head of the council said to Umballa: "It would be wise to lock her up for the present. We all face a great complication."