“Day after day I watched the white man at his unlawful toil. I sent tidings to Nalig-Nad, the king, who laughed at the cowardly intruder, and bade me continue to watch and to notify him if the beast tried to escape.
“Finally he saw my face among the trees, and it frightened him. He prepared to run away, and buried all the pebbles he had found under the moss beside this stump. Then he slunk from the valley and I let him go; for the king had been notified and would look after him.”
This relation proved to us the honesty of the German’s story. We knew well the rest of the tragic tale, and were just then more deeply interested in the loss of the diamonds.
“Why did you dig up the pebbles, when the commands of your king forbade you to touch them?” I asked, in a bitter tone.
The little Indian gave me a scornful look and said to Ilalah:
“Must I answer the white child, my Princess?”
“It will please me to have you do so,” she answered. “I must tell you, Tcharn, that these white people are my friends. Those who love me will also befriend them, and treat them kindly.”
For a time the dwarf stood motionless, frowning and staring stolidly upon the ground. Then he looked up and said:
“Does Nalig-Nad also love these whites?”
“He hates them, and seeks their destruction,” Ilalah replied.