ch I could say or do had the
least influence upon him. I reasoned, and threatened, and coaxed,
and swore, but all to no effect.

"When I asked him why he would not go,--what was the matter,--was he
ill? he did not seem to be inclined to answer at first, except to say
that he was not ill; but finally, later in the day, he explained to
me that he had had a 'warning' that it would not be safe for him to
go hunting that day; that his life would be in danger if he did go.

"Perico had been about the islands much more than most of the men
of his tribe. He had even been to Manila once or twice, and so not
only knew much more about the world than most Mangyans did, but
had also picked up enough of the Spanish language so that he could
speak it fairly well. In this way he was able to tell me, finally,
how the 'warning' had come to him, and why he put so much confidence
in it. He also told me this was why he had been so brave about the
hunting before. He knew that he was not in any danger so long as he
was not forewarned. When he had been warned he avoided the danger by
staying quietly in camp, or in some place of safety.

"Even after he had told me as much as this, Perico would not explain
to me just how the 'warning' had come, until, at last, he said that
'the stone' had told him.

"This stone, he said, was a wonderful 'anting-anting' which had
been in his family for many years. His father had given it to him,
and his grandfather had given it to his father.

"Once, many, many years before, there had been an ancestor of his
who had been famous through all the tribe for his goodness and
wisdom. This man, when very old, had one day taken shelter under
a tree from a furious storm. While he was there fire from the sky
had come down upon the tree, and when the storm was over the man was
found dead. Grasped tightly in one of the dead man's hands was found
a small flat stone, smooth cut and polished, which no one of his
family had ever seen him have before. Naturally the stone was looked
upon as a precious 'anting-anting,' sent down from the sky, and was
religiously watched until its mysterious properties were understood,
and it was learned that it had the power to forewarn its owner against
impending evil. When danger threatened its owner, Perico said, the
stone glowed at night with a strange light which he believed was due
to its celestial origin. At all other times it was a plain dull stone.

"The night before, for the first