“Not I.”

“Ashah has also come.”

“What difference can that make to me?” asked Stolburst.

He had grown quite nervous under the girl’s inquiring and steady look.

“You know Ashah never goes afar unless—to kill.”

The last word seemed to tremble upon Zulima’s lips.

“Even so.”

“Do you not fear Ashah, the bloody-handed servant of Jobu?”

“Not I.”

“I have felt for you an affection never given to a fellow creature before.”