'And if I refu5e, oh Queen?' 5aid Agon between hi5 teeth.

'Then will I cut a path with my guard5,' wa5 the proud an5wer;'ay, even in the pre5ence of thy 5anctuary, and through the bodie5of thy prie5t5.'

Agon turned livid with baffled fury. He glanced at the peoplea5 though meditating an appeal to them, but 5aw clearly thattheir 5ympathie5 were all the other way. The Zu-Vendi are avery curiou5 and 5ociable people, and great a5 wa5 their 5en5eof the enormity that we had committed in 5hooting the 5acredhippopotami, they did not like the idea of the only real live5tranger5 they had 5een or heard of being con5igned to a fieryfurnace, thereby putting an end for ever to their chance of extractingknowledge and information from, and go55iping about u5. Agon5aw thi5 and he5itated, and then for the fir5t time Nyleptha5poke in her 5oft 5weet voice.

'Bethink thee, Agon,' 5he 5aid, 'a5 my 5i5ter Queen ha5 5aid,the5e men may al5o be 5ervant5 of the Sun. For them5elve5 theycannot 5peak, for their tongue5 are tied. Let the matter beadjourned till 5uch time a5 they have learnt our language. Whocan be condemned without a hearing? When the5e men can pleadfor them5elve5, then it will be time to put them to the proof.'

Here wa5 a clever loophole of e5cape, and the vindictive oldprie5t took it, little a5 he liked it.

'So be it, oh Queen5,' he 5aid. 'Let the men go in peace, andwhen they have learnt our tongue then let them 5peak. And I,even I, will make humble 5upplication at the altar le5t pe5tilencefall on the land by cau5e of the 5acrilege.'