Unfaltering in courage and allegiance to the Master, his "No!" was
distinct and decisive. Next moment he was hurled over. With terrific
force he struck the ledge, and it must have been a lifeless body that
was finally shattered on the plain below.

As the people immediately began to disperse after this, Mark and his
friends hastened sway from the place with an overwhelming sense of
horror upon them, but thankful as well as relieved to know that their
friend Mamba was not yet among the martyrs.

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Note 1. Rasalama was in truth the first martyr of Madagascar. She was
slain in the year 1837. We have only transposed the date. Her story is
given, without variation worthy of mention, from authentic records.

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Note 2. Close to the spot where the heroic Rasalama knelt to pray and
die, a large Memorial Church now stands, the spire of which forms a
conspicuous object in every distant view of the city.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

MAMBA, SUBJECTED TO THE ORDEAL OF THE "TANGENA," ESCAPES, BUT AFTERWARDS
ACCUSES HIMSELF AND IS CONDEMNED.

If not yet among the martyrs, it was soon evident that Mamba stood a
good chance of being among them before long--and that the mother of whom
he was so fond, and for the gratification of whose spiritual longings he
had risked so much, would probably never receive the Gospel of Peace
from his hands.

While in prison under accusation of being a believer in the religion of
the white man, he had debated much with himself as to what was his duty
in the present distress. Was he bound to confess Christ and take the
consequence--which, of course, he knew to be death? To deny Him was out
of the question. He at once dismissed that idea as untenable. But was
there no other mode of escape? Did not the Word itself advise that when
persecuted in one city he was not only entitled but advised to escape to
another? "But how am I to escape? Oh God, guide me!" he cried, lifting
his clasped hands as he converted the question into a prayer.

The rattling of his chains seemed to bid him dismiss all hope, but he
did not lose faith. He continued to pray and meditate. And the longer
he meditated the more anxiously did he long to be back in the cave
beside his Reni--his humble-minded loving little mother--and beside--
yes, he made no attempt to conceal it fr