“But knowest thou not,” said Kayenna, sternly, “that it is forbidden by thy law, as by ours, to make a graven image or likeness of any living thing?”
“O Lord!” wailed the unhappy man, “surely a newspaper picture does not come under that head! But take me away,” he added despairingly. “People who never heard of electrocution cannot be expected to appreciate electrotypes.”
So he was borne to his dungeon; and in a short time four stalwart slaves thrust him, along with the condemned traitor, into the mouth of the cave of the horrible two-headed Snake, there to suffer the most cruel death ever conceived of by mortal mind.
But mortal mind erred, at least for once. On visiting the cave next morning, the executioners found not a trace of the two culprits, wherefore they supposed that the snake had despatched them promptly.
But the snake also was missing, and the closest search disclosed no explanation of his absence.
The mystery was partially solved when the caravan reached the capital of Nhulpar a few days later, and was confronted at the very gates of the city with flaming placards announcing that
THE GREAT AND ONLY WILKINS
ACKNOWLEDGED EMPEROR OF THE OPHIDIAN WORLD
WILL EXHIBIT
FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY
THE WONDROUS TWO-HEADED SNAKE
SECURED AT AN ENORMOUS EXPENSE FROM THE MENAGERIE
OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS
KAYENNA THE GREAT
AND EXHIBITED BEFORE THE CROWNED HEADS OF ALL ASIA,
EUROPE, AND AFRICA
Prior to his Immediate Return to America
CHAPTER IX.
There are times when it is inexpedient, if not actually immoral, to kill the bediamonded clerk of a caravansary.—Manco Capac.
Kayenna was at first deeply incensed on reading those advertisements, and would fain have invoked the assistance of the King of Nhulpar to punish the culprit; but Shacabac sagely counselled her, saying: “Let it be. If the people of Nhulpar believe in this two-headed Snake, all the more will they reverence thee who art supposed to own others of the kind; and meanwhile the terror of thy name shall be spread throughout the earth. But [he added to himself] I would that I had the knave who defrauded me of my trusty yataghan, or knew the secret whereby he made his cards fall as he willed. Great is Philosophy, and marvellous is Science; but miraculous is this thing which the Giaours call ‘Luck.’ Methinks it hath more to do with Science than with Philosophy. Would that the knave had stayed with me long enough to explain the strange mutations of that mysterious game which he calleth Po-kah!”