r the question yourself when you stand face to face with the great
elephant Jana that has in it an evil spirit, O Macumazana," replied
Harut. "Nay, listen. We are far from our home and we sought tidings
through those who could give it to us, and we have won those tidings,
that is all. We are worshippers of the Heavenly Child that is eternal
youth and all good things, but of late the Child has lacked a tongue.
Yet to-night it spoke again. Seek to know no more, you who in due season
will know all things."

"Seek to know no more," echoed Marut, "who already, perhaps, know too
much, lest harm should come to you, Macumazana."

"Where are you going to sleep to-night?" I asked.

"We do not sleep here," answered Harut, "we walk to the great city and
thence find our way to Africa, where we shall meet you again. You know
that we are no liars, common readers of thought and makers of tricks,
for did not Dogeetah, the wandering white man, speak to you of the
people of whom he had heard who worshipped the Child of Heaven? Go in,
Macumazana, ere you take harm in this horrible cold, and take with you
this as a marriage gift from the Child of Heaven whom she met to-night,
to the beautiful lady stamped with the sign of the young moon who is
about to marry the great lord she loves."

Then he thrust a little linen-wrapped parcel into my hand and with his
companion vanished into the darkness.

I returned to the drawing-room where the others were still discussing
the remarkable performance of the two native conjurers.

"They have gone," I said in answer to Lord Ragnall, "to walk to London
as they said. But they have sent a wedding-present to Miss Holmes," and
I showed the parcel.

"Open it, Quatermain," he said again.

"No, George," interrupted Miss Holmes, laughing, for by now she seemed
to have quite recovered herself, "I like to open my own presents."

He shrugged his shoulders and I handed her the parcel, which was neatly
sewn up. Somebody produced scissors and the stitches were cut. Within
the linen was a necklace of beautiful red stones, oval-shaped like amber
beads and of the size of a robin's egg. They were roughly polished and
threaded on what I recognized at once to be hair from an elephant's
tail. From certain indications I judged these stones, which might have
been spinels or carbuncles, or even rubies, to be very ancient. Possibly
they had once hung round the neck of some lady in old Egypt. Indeed a
beautiful littl