m himself was surprised by her candour. He looked at her
suspiciously, wondering what she was preparing for him.

Coulson regretted his sympathy. "What do you mean?" he demanded
sharply. "Is this a joke?"

Bela shook her head. "I tie him up and tak' him away lak he say."

"Then what is all this about? What did you do it for?" asked the
policeman.

This was the question Bela dreaded. A stubborn look came over her
face. "He is my friend," she said. "I hear those ot'er men say they
hate him. Say they goin' kill him and nobody know. I t'ink if I tell
Sam that, he jus' laugh. So I got tak' him away myself to save him."

The white spectators leaned forward, mystified and breathlessly
attentive. Here was a brand-new story which did not fit any of the
time-honoured court-room situations. The bishop looked sad. He
suspected from her face that she was lying. Jack, Shand, and Joe
could not contain their angry exclamations.

"It's a lie!" cried Jack. "The cook was nothing to us, neither one way
or the other. Of course, after we thought he carried her off, we were
sore, naturally."

"She's just trying to shield him now!" cried Joe furiously.

"Well, I can't hold him if she doesn't want him held," said Coulson.

"She told me yesterday she wanted him punished," insisted Jack.

"One moment," said Coulson. "I'll get to the bottom of this." He
returned to Bela with a severe air. "Is that true?"

"Yes; I tell him that," admitted Bela.

"What did you do that for?"

"He"--pointing to Sam--"run away from me." Here the spectators smiled.
"I not strong enough to catch him. So I mak' them catch him. I mak'
them bring him to the police so all is known. They cannot hurt him if
all is known."

The bishop, watching Bela, was sadly puzzled. Poor Bela herself, if he
had known, was confused between the truths and the untruths.

"Why should they want to hurt him?" demanded Coulson.

"I don' know." Here she was evasive again.

"What were you doing in their camp in the first place?" he asked.

"I jus' travellin'," said Bela.

"But you stayed there long enough to make friends. How long were you
there?"

"Three--four days."

"What did you stay for?"

"Not'ing," said Bela sullenly.

"That's no answer. You must have known the risks a girl ran in a camp
of men."

"I tak' care of myself all right."

"Answer my question," he insisted. "What did you stay there for?"

"I not stay in their house," she parried.

"Never mind that.