It was a cord about two yards in length, made of the entrail of some
animal, and still as strong and as flexible as when it was first made.
He took it up carefully, wondering why such a thing as this should have
been so carefully sealed up and preserved when so many other things had
been neglected.

The cord, on a close examination, presented nothing very remarkable
except the fact that, though very thin, it appeared to have been not
twisted but plaited in a very peculiar manner out of many fine strands.
The intention had evidently been to give to it the utmost possible
strength together with the smallest size. Brandon had heard of cords
used by Malays and Hindus for assassination, and this seemed like the
description which he had read of them.

At one end of the cord was a piece of bronze about the size of a common
marble, to which the cord was attached by a most peculiar knot. The
bronze itself was intended to represent the head of some Hindu idol, the
grotesque ferocity of its features, and the hideous grimace of the mouth
being exactly like what one may see in the images of Mother Kali or
Bowhani.

At once the cord associated itself in his mind with the horrors which he
had heard of as having been perpetrated in the names of these frightful
deities, and it seemed now to be more than a common one. He carefully
wound it up, placed it in his pocket, and prepared to examine the
manuscript.

The sun was high in the heavens, the sea-breeze still blew freshly,
while Brandon, opening the manuscript, began to read.