That was why she had admitted the soldiers to the palace grounds and locked the gate. Could any other have given so brilliant a turn to a threatening situation? Yet I only looked at her in silence, and her face had not a trace of the old friendliness. Perhaps it was my own fault. There rang in my ears the demand for a sacrifice; I recalled old Rangan’s nod; I remembered the defenseless position of Rawley and Mr. Vancouver; and the brown blood in the Senatra queen unaccountably looked different from the brown blood in Beela.
“Your Majesty,” I said, “I will go now and see that all is well with Mr. Vancouver; then I will go and assure a clear opening for the colony, and arrange for Mr. Vancouver and Rawley to join us as we move down the eastern side of the settlement to the harbor.”
“Yes,” she agreed. I was turning away, but she stopped me. “You will reflect,” she said, “that many people in the island are ignorant of what has taken place here today. I will send out runners, but still the entire island can’t be covered. All know that a white man has been held for sacrifice to the Black Face in order to stop the earthquakes and avert an eruption. If the earthquake returns, even the people who saw me crowned may become uncontrollable. Should that happen, I am not sufficiently sure of the army to trust it in stopping a sacrifice. There is just one thing to do.”
She ceased, and regarded me waitingly.
“What is it, your Majesty?”
She hardened still more. “Let’s consider the situation calmly. If some very strong diversion should arise tonight, the colony could pass through to the vessel without risk. On the other hand, the people are alarmed and restless; they won’t sleep soundly; many may be abroad in every direction. If some of them should see the colony escaping, a cry might be raised that would ring from one end of the island to the other. That would mean the instant gathering of a mob which no power could resist, and the colony would be annihilated.”
“I see, your Majesty. What diversion would prevent it?”
“The sacrifice of Mr. Vancouver and Rawley.” She spoke in a cold, business-like tone.
My horror must have been evident. “Your Majesty,” I said with warmth, “before that shall be submitted to, every member of our colony will die fighting.”
She shrugged. “That is your affair. I should hate to see any of my people killed in such a clash. It is interesting to see how jealous you are of Mr. Vancouver’s safety, when he had planned to destroy the colony.”