At his word lads appeared from behind the idol, driving two lean bulls,
and with them a pair of he-goats.

Whether by accident or design, they drove them so unskilfully that the
animals blundered hither and thither over the rocky platform till they
were finally despatched with blows from clubs and axes--that is, except
one goat, which, escaping its pursuers, rushed down the amphitheatre and
scrambled from seat to seat among the audience, uttering a succession of
terrified "baa's." Indeed the scene was so comic that even that sombre
and silent people began to laugh, accustomed as they were on these
occasions to the hideous and impressive ceremonial of the midnight
sacrifice of so many human beings.

The ancient feast was a fiasco; this was a fact which could not be
concealed.

"Begone, ye People of the Mist," said Nam presently, pointing to the
dead animals. "The sacrifice is sacrificed, the festival of Jal is
done. May the Mother plead with the Snake that the sun may shine and
fruitfulness bless the land!"

Now scarcely ten minutes had elapsed since the beginning of the
ceremony, which in the ordinary course of events lasted through the
greater part of the night, for it was the custom to slaughter
each victim singly and with appropriate solemnities. A murmur of
disapprobation arose from the far end of the amphitheatre, that swelled
gradually to a roar. The people had been thankful to accept Juanna's
message of peace, but, brutalised as they were by the continual sight
of bloodshed, they were not willing to dispense with their carnivals
of human sacrifice. A Roman audience gathered to witness a gladiatorial