e wings of terror.

As on former occasions of conquest, the Mountain-men pursued the flying
host into their swamps, but they did not, as in former times, return to
slay the aged and carry the women and children into captivity.

To the surprise of all his followers, and the anger of not a few,
Ongoloo commanded his men to return to their village and leave the
Raturans alone. One of his chiefs, who showed a disposition to resist
his authority, he promptly knocked down, whereupon the rest became
obedient and went quietly home.

On reaching the village, Zeppa went straight to his hut with Lippy on
his shoulder. Apparently he had forgotten all about the recent fight
for, without even waiting to take food or rest he sat down, and began to
give his little friend a singing lesson!

With the air of a little princess, who felt that she was only receiving
her due, the child accepted the attention. Her young companions,
attracted by the sweet sounds, soon flocked to the old place of
rendezvous, and when the last of the straggling warriors returned from
the field of battle they found the singing class going full swing as if
nothing had happened.

But when the wounded and the dead were brought in, other sounds began to
arise--sounds of wailing and woe, which soon drowned the hymns of
praise. As soon as Zeppa became fully alive to this fact he ceased
singing and went about trying to comfort those who wept but, from his
perplexed air, and the frequency with which he paused in his wanderings
to and fro and passed his hand across his brow, as if to clear away some
misty clouds that rested there, it was evident that his shattered
intellect had taken in a very imperfect impression of what had occurred.

As if to get rid of this beclouded state, he started off that evening at
a quick walk towards his favourite haunts among the hills. No one ever
followed him on these occasions. The natives regarded his person as in
some measure sacred, and would have deemed it not only dangerous but
insolent to go up among the rocky heights when the madman was known to
be there.

Once, indeed, Wapoota, with that presumptuous temerity which is a
characteristic of fools in general, ventured, on the strength of old
acquaintance, to follow him, and even went towards the well known cave
where he had found refuge and protection in the day of his distress; but
Zeppa had either forgotten his former intercourse with the jester or
intended to repudiate