"Yes, here is the bracelet."
"And the cloak of Portox?" demanded the Ape. "The cloak Portox foretold you would wear?"
"I—I lost the cloak in my journey," lied Hultax, not knowing about any cloak. There, he thought, that ought to satisfy him.
But the Ape said: "There was no cloak."
"No cloak? No cloak!"
"I made that up, to test you. You're not from Portox."
The stallion pawed the ground and looked up and then down at Hultax, snorting. Hultax, trembling, wished he could melt into the ground.
"Still," Hultax said, shaking, "I am from Portox. You tried to trick me. You...."
"We shall see," the Ape said, still pleasantly. "Come."