rward. At the cost of a sprained wrist and a great jerk
on his bruised fingers, he caught at a bough by his side, but wrenched it
away suddenly. It was touch and go. At the very same moment, the skeleton
fell heavily, and rattled on the ground beside Tu-Kila-Kila.

Before Felix could discover what had actually happened, a very great
shout went up all round below, and made him stagger with excitement.
Tu-Kila-Kila was awake, and had started up, all intent, mad with wrath
and kava. Glaring about him wildly, and brandishing his great spear in
his stalwart hands, he screamed aloud, in a perfect frenzy of passion and
despair: "Where is he, the Korong? Bring him on, my meat! Let me devour
his heart! Let me tear him to pieces. Let me drink of his blood! Let me
kill him and eat him!"

Sick and desperate at the accident, Felix, in turn, clinging hard to his
bough with one hand, gazed wildly about him to look for the parasite. But
it had gone as if by magic. He glanced around in despair, vaguely
conscious that nothing was left for it now but to drop to the ground
and let himself be killed at leisure by that frantic savage. Yet even as
he did so, he was aware of that great cry--a cry as of triumph--still
rending the air. Fire and Water had rushed forward, and were holding back
Tu-Kila-Kila, now black in the face from rage, with all their might. Ula
was smiling a malicious joy. The Eyes were all agog with interest and
excitement. And from one and all that wild scream rose unanimous to the
startled sky: "He has it! He has it! The Soul of the Tree! The Spirit of
the World! The great god's abode. Hold off your hands, Lavita, son of
Sami! Your trial has come. He has it! He has it!"

Felix looked about him with a whirling brain. His eye fell suddenly.
There, in his own hand, lay the fateful bough. In his efforts to steady
himself, he had clutched at it by pure accident, and broken it off
unawares with the force of his clutching. As fortune would have it, he
grasped it still. His senses reeled. He was almost dead with excitement,
suspense, and uncertainty, mingled with pain of his wrenched wrist. But
for Muriel's sake he pulled himself together. Gazing down and trying hard
to take it all in--that strange savage scene--he saw that Tu-Kila-Kila
was making frantic attempts to lunge at him with the spear, while the
King of Fire and the King of Water, stern and relentless, were holding
him off by main force, and striving their best to appeas