mell of roasting flesh--oh, God! it was awful beyond all
attempt at description. I pray that I may never look upon such a
ghastly sight again.

The fiendish exhibition had probably reached its most appalling phase,
and I was wondering, shudderingly, what form of torture could possibly
exceed it in cruelty, when there was a sudden slight movement of my
bonds; they slackened and fell away from the tree-trunk against which I
leaned, and _I was free_. Not a moment was allowed me in which to get
over the first shock of my bewilderment; a soft plump hand grasped mine
and gently drew me round behind the tree, so rapidly that I had only
time to note the fact that apparently every eye in the assembly was
fixed upon the writhing figure suspended over the fire--and before I had
fairly realised what was happening I found myself a dozen yards away
from my starting-point, gliding rapidly and noiselessly through the deep
shadows cast by the tree-trunks, towards the outer darkness which
prevailed beyond the range of the fire-light; with our little black Hebe
friend of a few hours before dragging me along on one side of her and
Smellie on the other.

Five minutes later we had left the village so far behind us that the
barbarous sounds of horn and drum, mingled with the yells of anguish
from the tortured victim, momentarily becoming more and more softened by
our increasing distance, were the sole evidences that remained to us of
its existence, and we found ourselves hurrying along through the rank
grass, threading the mazes of the park-like clumps of lofty timber, and
forcing a passage through the thickly clustering festoons of parasitic
orchids, under the subdued light of the mellow stars alone.

With almost breathless rapidity our tender-hearted little deliverer
hurried us forward, frequently exclaiming in low urgent accents, "Zola-
ku! zola-ku," so expressively uttered that we had no difficulty in
interpreting the words to mean that there was the most extreme necessity
for rapid movement on our part. We accordingly hastened our steps to
the utmost limit of our capacity, and in about ten minutes from the
moment of our liberation emerged upon a long narrow strip of sandy
beach, with the noble river sweeping grandly to seaward before us. Here
our guide paused for a moment, apparently pondering as to what it would
next be best to do. Glancing down the river I saw indistinctly, at
about two hundred yards distance, some shapeless obj