him in wonder.

"Mac! Do you know what that symbol is?"

"It's the sign o' Pongo," returned the other. "From what I saw later it
had to do wi' ancient Egypt--"

"I should say it had!" ejaculated Mr. Wallace, sinking back into his
chair and staring at Montenay, who slipped his shirt back into position.
"Why, that sign is the Egyptian cross, or ankh--the symbol of life, and
the peculiar insignia of Maat, the ancient Goddess of Truth!"

"So I found out, if ye'd given me time to finish," replied Montenay
drily. "Mbopo an' the rest staked me out there an' left me. What wi' the
burn an' the insects that settled down, I was pretty nigh gone inside an
hour. The fire was out, an' just after moonrise I heard a 'pad-pad' o'
steps near by. Then a minute later I caught one glimpse of a monstrous
lion, just as he sprang an' grabbed me by the wounded shoulder. That
finished me for sure, and I fainted."

CHAPTER X

THE SACRED ANKH

"When I came to," continued Montenay, "I thought sure I was crazy. I was
lyin' in a palm-thatch hut, on a floor littered wi' bones an' refuse an'
smellin' to high heaven. To one side was a little dish full o' palm oil,
with a lighted wick floatin' in it. Leanin' up against the wall, behind
the lamp, was a big painted mummy. Layin' in front o' the mummy was an
ankh, four foot long an' made out o' solid gold."

"What!" Mr. Wallace stared at the other, almost speechless. The two
boys, fascinated by the deadly earnestness of Montenay's recital, were
pale with excitement. "But go ahead, man. I can talk later."

"I was still trussed up like a turkey, but I wriggled and squirmed until
I got loose. My shoulder was badly torn up," went on Captain Mac, "and I
was nigh frantic wi' the pain. A little o' the palm oil helped, but wi'
them things around me I thought sure I was crazy. I crawled to the
door, an' found I was in the hut inside the ivory zareba.

"The whole business must ha' gone to my head, for I don't remember very
well what happened then. I know I went back to the mummy an' saw that
his neck was torn open. There was somethin' shinin', and I grabbed at
it. Just then I heard somethin' behind me, an' there was the big lion,
standin' and lashin' his tail. I remember laughing, then I caught up the
lamp an' flung it at him. The oil blazed up as the vessel smashed him
fair between the eyes, he gave a roar, and I fainted again.

"Next I remember was Mbopo bending over me. The poor fellow had come