The stone worn by the thern who confronted us was of about the same
size as that which I had seen before; an inch in diameter I should
say. It scintillated nine different and distinct rays; the seven
primary colours of our earthly prism and the two rays which are
unknown upon Earth, but whose wondrous beauty is indescribable.

As the thern saw us his eyes narrowed to two nasty slits.

"Stop!" he cried. "What means this, Thuvia?"

For answer the girl raised her revolver and fired point-blank at
him. Without a sound he sank to the earth, dead.

"Beast!" she hissed. "After all these years I am at last revenged."

Then as she turned toward me, evidently with a word of explanation
on her lips, her eyes suddenly widened as they rested upon me, and
with a little exclamation she started toward me.

"O Prince," she cried, "Fate is indeed kind to us. The way is still
difficult, but through this vile thing upon the floor we may yet
win to the outer world. Notest thou not the remarkable resemblance
between this Holy Thern and thyself?"

The man was indeed of my precise stature, nor were his eyes and
features unlike mine; but his hair was a mass of flowing yellow
locks, like those of the two I had killed, while mine is black and
close cropped.