of trespass!"--and he drew his flashing weapon from his sheath..
"THIS shall unmask him! ... And thou, my friend, get thee away and
home, . . fear nothing for my safety! ... go hence and quickly; I'll
follow thee anon!"

And before Theos could utter a word of warning, he plunged
impetuously into the innermost recess of the dense foliage behind
which the mysterious armed figure had just vanished, and was
instantly lost to sight.

"Sah-luma! ... Sah-luma!"--called Theos passionately ... "Come
back! Whether wilt thou go? ... Sah-luma!"

Only silence answered him,--silence rendered even more profound by
the subdued, faint rustling of the wind among the leaves,--and
agitated by all manner of vague alarms and dreary forebodings, he
stood still for a moment hesitating as to whether he should follow
his friend or no. Some instinct stronger than himself, however,
persuaded him that it would be best to continue his road,--he
therefore went on slowly, hoping against hope that Sah-luma might
still rejoin him,--but herein he was disappointed. He waited a
little while near the illuminated water, dreamily eying the
beautiful marble nymph crowned with her wreath of amethystine
flame, . . she resembled Lysia somewhat, he thought,--only this was
a frozen fairness, while the peerless charms of the cruel High
Priestess were those of living flesh and blood. Yet the
remembrance of all the tenderly witching loveliness that might
have been his, had he slain Sah-luma at her bidding, now moved him
neither to regret nor lover's passion, but only touched his spirit
with a sense of bitter repulsion, . . while a strange pity for the