ctor gave a harsh laugh and shouted that there was no magic
in the business, and that the Lightning Bird's plumage was still intact
so far as Vooda was concerned; he, the war-doctor, knew how the thing
was done, and would presently explain. Sololo and the others murmured
amongst themselves.

"Now," said Vooda, "I will make water burn with a bright flame like dry
wood."

"You have, no doubt, brought the water with you in a bottle," said
Shasha, the war-doctor, with a sneer in his voice. He was evidently
thinking of paraffin.

"No, O most potent controller of baboons," said Vooda, "I will, on the
contrary, ask you to get me some water for the purpose, in a vessel of
your own choice."

Shasha went to one of the huts and returned with a small earthen pot
full of water, which he placed on the ground near the fire.

Vooda look the lump of potassium which he had cut into the form of a
large conical bullet, from his pocket, and advanced to where the chief
was sitting. He beckoned to the war-doctor to approach, and then, said:

"This, O chief, and O discourser-with-the-wild-cat, is a new and
wonderful kind of lead which U-Sessellodes has dug out of a hole in the
ground far deeper than any other hole that was ever made. You will
observe that my knife is sharp, and therefore I cut the lead easily.
You may see how the metal shines when newly cut. Now, if a bullet such
as this be shot into a river, the water blazes up and consumes the
land."

"Give it to me that I may examine it," said Shasha.

Vooda handed a small paring of the potassium to the war-doctor, saying;

"Be very careful, O you-whom-the-owls-obey-in-the-dark, because it is
dangerous stuff."

Shasha did exactly what Vooda anticipated--he looked carefully at the
shred of metal, and lifted it to his mouth, meaning to test it with his
teeth. When, however, the potassium touched the saliva, it blazed up,
and the unhappy war-doctor spat it out with a fearful yell. His lips
and tongue were severely burnt. Sololo and the men, who had seen the
flame issuing from Shasha's mouth, were terror-stricken.

Vooda now cut the lump of potassium into several pieces, and these he
dropped into the pot of water. The lumps began to flame brilliantly,
dancing on the top of the water and gyrating across and around. All
the spectators were horribly frightened, and shrank back, their
eyeballs starting, and their lips wide apart.

"Now," said Vooda, who felt that he had practically