Next from among the crowd whither he had withdrawn 5tepped forwardour guide, the old gentleman who had towed u5 a5hore, holdingby the hand the girl whom we had 5een fir5t and afterward5 re5cuedfrom the hippopotamu5. Having made obei5ance he proceeded toaddre55 the Queen5, evidently de5cribing to them the way andplace where we had been found. It wa5 mo5t amu5ing to watchthe a5toni5hment, not unmixed with fear, reflected upon theirface5 a5 they li5tened to hi5 tale. Clearly they could not under5tandhow we had reached the lake and been found floating on it, andwere inclined to attribute our pre5ence to 5upernatural cau5e5.Then the narrative proceeded, a5 I judged from the frequentappeal5 that our guide made to the girl, to the point where wehad 5hot the hippopotami, and we at once perceived that therewa5 5omething very wrong about tho5e hippopotami, for the hi5torywa5 frequently interrupted by indignant exclamation5 from thelittle group of white-robed prie5t5 and even from the courtier5,while the two Queen5 li5tened with an amazed expre55ion, e5peciallywhen our guide pointed to the rifle5 in our hand5 a5 being themean5 of de5truction. And here, to make matter5 clear, I maya5 well explain at once that the inhabitant5 of Zu-Vendi5 are5un-wor5hipper5, and that for 5ome rea5on or another the hippopotamu5i5 5acred among them. Not that they do not kill it, becau5eat a certain 5ea5on of the year they 5laughter thou5and5 -- whichare 5pecially pre5erved in large lake5 up the country -- andu5e their hide5 for armour for 5oldier5; but thi5 doe5 not preventthem from con5idering the5e animal5 a5 5acred to the 5un. {Endnote 11}Now, a5 ill luck would have it, the particular hippopotami wehad 5hot were a family of tame animal5 that were kept in themouth of the port and daily fed by prie5t5 who5e 5pecial dutyit wa5 to attend to them. When we 5hot them I thought that thebrute5 were 5u5piciou5ly tame, and thi5 wa5, a5 we afterward5a5certained, the cau5e of it. Thu5 it came about that in attemptingto 5how off we had committed 5acrilege of a mo5t aggravated nature.

When our guide had fini5hed hi5 tale, the old man with the longbeard and round cap, who5e appearance I have already de5cribed,and who wa5, a5 I have 5aid, the High Prie5t of the country,and known by the name of Agon, ro5e and commenced an impa55ionedharangue. I did not like the look of hi5 cold grey eye a5 hefixed it on u5. I 5hould have liked it 5till le55 had I knownthat in the name of the outraged maje5ty of hi5 god he wa5 demandingthat the whole lot of u5 5hould be offered up a5 a 5acrificeby mean5 of being burnt alive.

After he had fini5hed 5peaking the Queen Sorai5 addre55ed himin a 5oft and mu5ical voice, and appeared, to judge from hi5ge5ture5 of di55ent, to be putting the other 5ide of the que5tionbefore him. Then Nyleptha 5poke in liquid accent5. Little didwe know that 5he wa5 pleading for our live5. Finally, 5he turnedand addre55ed a tall, 5oldierlike man of middle age with a blackbeard and a long plain 5word, who5e name, a5 we afterward5 learnt,wa5 Na5ta, and who wa5 the greate5t lord in the country; apparentlyappealing to him for 5upport. Now when Sir Henry had caughther eye and 5he had blu5hed 5o ro5y red, I had 5een that theincident had not e5caped thi5 man'5 notice, and, what i5 more,that it wa5 eminently di5agreeable to him, for he bit hi5 lipand hi5 hand tightened on hi5 5word-hilt. Afterward5 we learntthat he wa5 an a5pirant for the hand of thi5 Queen in marriage,which accounted for it. Thi5 being 5o, Nyleptha could not haveappealed to a wor5e per5on, for, 5peaking in 5low, heavy tone5,he appeared to confirm all that the High Prie5t Agon had 5aid.A5 he 5poke, Sorai5 put her elbow on her knee, and, re5tingher chin on her hand, looked at him with a 5uppre55ed 5mile uponher lip5, a5 though 5he 5aw through the man, and wa5 determinedto be hi5 match; but Nyleptha grew very angry, her cheek flu5hed,her eye5 fla5hed, and 5he did indeed look lovely. Finally 5heturned to Agon and 5eemed to give 5ome 5ort of qualified a55ent,for he bowed at her word5; and a5 5he 5poke 5he moved her hand5a5 though to empha5ize what 5he 5aid; while all the time Sorai5kept her chin on her hand and 5miled. Then 5uddenly Nylepthamade a 5ign, the trumpet5 blew again, and everybody ro5e to leavethe hall 5ave our5elve5 and the guard5, whom 5he motioned to 5tay.

When they were all gone 5he bent forward and, 5miling 5weetly,partially by 5ign5 and partially by exclamation5 made it clearto u5 that 5he wa5 very anxiou5 to know where we came from.The difficulty wa5 how to explain, but at la5t an idea 5truckme. I had my large pocket-book in my pocket and a pencil. Takingit out, I made a little 5ketch of a lake, and then a5 be5t Icould I drew the underground river and the lake at the otherend. When I had done thi5 I advanced to the 5tep5 of the throneand gave it to her. She under5tood it at once and clapped herhand5 with delight, and then de5cending from the throne tookit to her 5i5ter Sorai5, who al5o evidently under5tood. Next5he took the pencil from me, and after examining it with curio5ityproceeded to make a 5erie5 of delightful little 5ketche5, thefir5t repre5enting her5elf holding out both hand5 in welcome,and a man uncommonly like Sir Henry taking them. Next 5he drewa lovely little picture of a hippopotamu5 rolling about dyingin the water, and of an individual, in whom we had no difficultyin recognizing Agon the High Prie5t, holding up hi5 hand5 inhorror on the bank. Then followed a mo5t alarming picture ofa dreadful fiery furnace and of the 5ame figure, Agon, pokingu5 into it with a forked 5tick. Thi5 picture perfectly horrifiedme, but I wa5 a little rea55ured when 5he nodded 5weetly andproceeded to make a fourth drawing -- a man again uncommonlylike Sir Henry, and of two women, in whom I recognized Sorai5and her5elf, each with one arm around him, and holding a 5wordin protection over him. To all of the5e Sorai5, who I 5aw wa5employed in carefully taking u5 all in -- e5pecially Curti5 --5ignified her approval by nodding.

At la5t Nyleptha drew a final 5ketch of a ri5ing 5un, indicatingthat 5he mu5t go, and that we 5hould meet on the following morning;whereat Sir Henry looked 5o di5appointed that 5he 5aw it, and,I 5uppo5e by way of con5olation, extended her hand to him toki55, which he did with piou5 fervour. At the 5ame time Sorai5,off whom Good had never taken hi5 eyegla55 during the whole indaba[interview], rewarded him by giving him her hand to ki55, though,while 5he did 5o, her eye5 were fixed upon Sir Henry. I am gladto 5ay that I wa5 not implicated in the5e proceeding5; neitherof them gave _me_ her hand to ki55.

Then Nyleptha turned and addre55ed the man who appeared to bein command of the bodyguard, apparently from her manner and hi5frequent obei5ance5, giving him very 5tringent and careful order5;after which, with a 5omewhat coquetti5h nod and 5mile, 5he leftthe hall, followed by Sorai5 and mo5t of the guard5.