fair companion stood alone in the little plain, staring at the distant
gateposts, over which a faint cloud of smoke was lifting, coming up from
the sea beyond. The terrified savages had fled to their homes in
wildest alarm.

Minutes passed before Hugh could speak again. Power of comprehension
seemed to have left them. They were looking dumbly into each
other's eyes.

"It _was_ a gun--a big gun. Our flag."

Without knowing what they did the two started across the plain, their
eyes glued to the great rocks that screened the mystery.

"Can it be the Oolooz men?" she asked.

"The whole Oolooz army, dead or alive, couldn't have made a noise like
that. It might have been a volcano breaking through the rocks."

"Then we must not venture down there," she cried, holding back. He threw
his big right arm around her waist and broke into a brisk run, taking
her along resistlessly.

Together they walked and ran across the plain and through the pass which
led to the sea. Far behind straggled a few of the villagers, emboldened
by curiosity.

"The rocks seem to be all right," he said, as if a pet theory had been
destroyed.