Meriem, again bound and under heavy guard in Kovudoo's own hut,saw the night pass and the new day come without bringing themomentarily looked for return of Korak. She had no doubt butthat he would come back and less still that he would easilyfree her from her captivity. To her Korak was little shortof omnipotent. He embodied for her all that was finest andstrongest and best in her savage world. She gloried in hisprowess and worshipped him for the tender thoughtfulnessthat always had marked his treatment of her. No other withinthe ken of her memory had ever accorded her the love andgentleness that was his daily offering to her. Most of thegentler attributes of his early childhood had long since beenforgotten in the fierce battle for existence which the customsof the mysterious jungle had forced upon him. He was more oftensavage and bloodthirsty than tender and kindly. His other friendsof the wild looked for no gentle tokens of his affection. That hewould hunt with them and fight for them was sufficient. If hegrowled and showed his fighting fangs when they trespassed uponhis inalienable rights to the fruits of his kills they felt noanger toward him--only greater respect for the efficient and thefit--for him who could not only kill but protect the flesh of his kill.

But toward Meriem he always had shown more of his human side. He killed primarily for her. It was to the feet of Meriem thathe brought the fruits of his labors. It was for Meriem morethan for himself that he squatted beside his flesh and growledominously at whosoever dared sniff too closely to it. When hewas cold in the dark days of rain, or thirsty in a prolongeddrouth, his discomfort engendered first of all thoughts ofMeriem's welfare--after she had been made warm, after herthirst had been slaked, then he turned to the affair ofministering to his own wants.

The softest skins fell gracefully from the graceful shouldersof his Meriem. The sweetest-scented grasses lined her bowerwhere other soft, furry pelts made hers the downiest couch inall the jungle.

What wonder then that Meriem loved her Korak? But she loved himas a little sister might love a big brother who was very goodto her. As yet she knew naught of the love of a maid for a man.

So now as she lay waiting for him she dreamed of him and ofall that he meant to her. She compared him with The Sheik,her father, and at thought of the stern, grizzled, old Arabshe shuddered. Even the savage blacks had been less harsh toher than he. Not understanding their tongue she could not guesswhat purpose they had in keeping her a prisoner. She knew thatman ate man, and she had expected to be eaten; but she hadbeen with them for some time now and no harm had befallen her. She did not know that a runner had been dispatched to the distantvillage of The Sheik to barter with him for a ransom. She didnot know, nor did Kovudoo, that the runner had never reachedhis destination--that he had fallen in with the safari ofJenssen and Malbihn and with the talkativeness of a native toother natives had unfolded his whole mission to the black servantsof the two Swedes. These had not been long in retailing the matterto their masters, and the result was that when the runner lefttheir camp to continue his journey he had scarce passed fromsight before there came the report of a rifle and he rolledlifeless into the underbrush with a bullet in his back.

A few moments later Malbihn strolled back into the encampment,where he went to some pains to let it be known that he hadhad a shot at a fine buck and missed. The Swedes knew thattheir men hated them, and that an overt act against Kovudoowould quickly be carried to the chief at the first opportunity.Nor were they sufficiently strong in either guns or loyalfollowers to risk antagonizing the wily old chief.

Following this episode came the encounter with the baboons andthe strange, white savage who had allied himself with the beastsagainst the humans. Only by dint of masterful maneuvering andthe expenditure of much power had the Swedes been able to repulsethe infuriated apes, and even for hours afterward their camp wasconstantly besieged by hundreds of snarling, screaming devils.

The Swedes, rifles in hand, repelled numerous savage chargeswhich lacked only efficient leadership to have rendered them aseffective in results as they were terrifying in appearance. Time and time again the two men thought they saw the smooth-skinnedbody of the wild ape-man moving among the baboons in theforest, and the belief that he might head a charge upon themproved most disquieting. They would have given much for aclean shot at him, for to him they attributed the loss of theirspecimen and the ugly attitude of the baboons toward them.

"The fellow must be the same we fired on several years ago,"said Malbihn. "That time he was accompanied by a gorilla. Did you get a good look at him, Carl?"

"Yes," replied Jenssen. "He was not five paces from me whenI fired at him. He appears to be an intelligent lookingEuropean--and not much more than a lad. There is nothing ofthe imbecile or degenerate in his features or expression, as isusually true in similar cases, where some lunatic escapes intothe woods and by living in filth and nakedness wins the title ofwild man among the peasants of the neighborhood. No, thisfellow is of different stuff--and so infinitely more to be feared.As much as I should like a shot at him I hope he stays away.Should he ever deliberately lead a charge against us I wouldn'tgive much for our chances if we happened to fail to bag him atthe first rush."

But the white giant did not appear again to lead the baboonsagainst them, and finally the angry brutes themselves wanderedoff into the jungle leaving the frightened safari in peace.

The next day the Swedes set out for Kovudoo's village benton securing possession of the person of the white girl whomKovudoo's runner had told them lay captive in the chief's village.How they were to accomplish their end they did not know. Force wasout of the question, though they would not have hesitated to useit had they possessed it. In former years they had marchedrough shod over enormous areas, taking toll by brute force evenwhen kindliness or diplomacy would have accomplished more;but now they were in bad straits--so bad that they had showntheir true colors scarce twice in a year and then only when theycame upon an isolated village, weak in numbers and poor in courage.

Kovudoo was not as these, and though his village was in away remote from the more populous district to the north hispower was such that he maintained an acknowledged suzeraintyover the thin thread of villages which connected him with thesavage lords to the north. To have antagonized him would havespelled ruin for the Swedes. It would have meant that they mightnever reach civilization by the northern route. To the west,the village of The Sheik lay directly in their path, barringthem effectually. To the east the trail was unknown to them,and to the south there was no trail. So the two Swedes approachedthe village of Kovudoo with friendly words upon their tongues anddeep craft in their hearts.

Their plans were well made. There was no mention of thewhite prisoner--they chose to pretend that they were not awarethat Kovudoo had a white prisoner. They exchanged gifts withthe old chief, haggling with his plenipotentiaries over the valueof what they were to receive for what they gave, as is customaryand proper when one has no ulterior motives. Unwarranted generositywould have aroused suspicion.

During the palaver which followed they retailed the gossip ofthe villages through which they had passed, receiving in exchangesuch news as Kovudoo possessed. The palaver was long and tiresome,as these native ceremonies always are to Europeans. Kovudoo madeno mention of his prisoner and from his generous offers of guidesand presents seemed anxious to assure himself of the speedydeparture of his guests. It was Malbihn who, quite casually,near the close of their talk, mentioned the fact that The Sheikwas dead. Kovudoo evinced interest and surprise.

"You did not know it?" asked Malbihn. "That is strange. It wasduring the last moon. He fell from his horse when the beaststepped in a hole. The horse fell upon him. When his men cameup The Sheik was quite dead."

Kovudoo scratched his head. He was much disappointed. No Sheikmeant no ransom for the white girl. Now she was worthless,unless he utilized her for a feast or--a mate. The latterthought aroused him. He spat at a small beetle crawling throughthe dust before him. He eyed Malbihn appraisingly. These whitemen were peculiar. They traveled far from their own villageswithout women. Yet he knew they cared for women. But how much didthey care for them?--that was the question that disturbed Kovudoo.

"I know where there is a white girl," he said, unexpectedly."If you wish to buy her she may be had cheap."

Malbihn shrugged. "We have troubles enough, Kovudoo," he said,"without burdening ourselves with an old she-hyena, and asfor paying for one--" Malbihn snapped his fingers in derision.

"She is young," said Kovudoo, "and good looking."

The Swedes laughed. "There are no good looking white womenin the jungle, Kovudoo," said Jenssen. "You should beashamed to try to make fun of old friends."

Kovudoo sprang to his feet. "Come," he said, "I will showyou that she is all I say."

Malbihn and Jenssen rose to follow him and as they did so theireyes met, and Malbihn slowly drooped one of his lids in a sly wink. Together they followed Kovudoo toward his hut. In the diminterior they discerned the figure of a woman lying bound upona sleeping mat.

Malbihn took a single glance and turned away. "She must bea thousand years old, Kovudoo," he said, as he left the hut.

"She is young," cried the savage. "It is dark in here. You cannot see. Wait, I will have her brought out into thesunlight," and he commanded the two warriors who watched thegirl to cut the bonds from her ankles and lead her forthfor inspection.

Malbihn and Jenssen evinced no eagerness, though both werefairly bursting with it--not to see the girl but to obtainpossession of her. They cared not if she had the face ofa marmoset, or the figure of pot-bellied Kovudoo himself. All that they wished to know was that she was the girlwho had been stolen from The Sheik several years before. They thought that they would recognize her for such if shewas indeed the same, but even so the testimony of the runnerKovudoo had sent to The Sheik was such as to assure them thatthe girl was the one they had once before attempted to abduct.

As Meriem was brought forth from the darkness of the hut'sinterior the two men turned with every appearance ofdisinterestedness to glance at her. It was with difficultythat Malbihn suppressed an ejaculation of astonishment. The girl's beauty fairly took his breath from him; butinstantly he recovered his poise and turned to Kovudoo.

"Well?" he said to the old chief.

"Is she not both young and good looking?" asked Kovudoo.

"She is not old," replied Malbihn; "but even so she will bea burden. We did not come from the north after wives--thereare more than enough there for us."

Meriem stood looking straight at the white men. She expectednothing from them--they were to her as much enemies as theblack men. She hated and feared them all. Malbihn spoke to herin Arabic.

"We are friends," he said. "Would you like to have us takeyou away from here?"

Slowly and dimly as though from a great distance recollectionof the once familiar tongue returned to her.

"I should like to go free," she said, "and go back to Korak."

"You would like to go with us?" persisted Malbihn.

"No," said Meriem.

Malbihn turned to Kovudoo. "She does not wish to go with us,"he said.

"You are men," returned the black. "Can you not take herby force?"

"It would only add to our troubles," replied the Swede. "No, Kovudoo, we do not wish her; though, if you wish tobe rid of her, we will take her away because of our friendshipfor you."

Now Kovudoo knew that he had made a sale. They wanted her. So he commenced to bargain, and in the end the person ofMeriem passed from the possession of the black chieftain intothat of the two Swedes in consideration of six yards of Amerikan,three empty brass cartridge shells and a shiny, new jackknife from New Jersey. And all but Meriem were more thanpleased with the bargain.

Kovudoo stipulated but a single condition and that was thatthe Europeans were to leave his village and take the girlwith them as early the next morning as they could get started. After the sale was consummated he did not hesitate to explain hisreasons for this demand. He told them of the strenuous attemptof the girl's savage mate to rescue her, and suggested that thesooner they got her out of the country the more likely they wereto retain possession of her.

Meriem was again bound and placed under guard, but thistime in the tent of the Swedes. Malbihn talked to her, trying topersuade her to accompany them willingly. He told her that theywould return her to her own village; but when he discovered thatshe would rather die than go back to the old sheik, he assuredher that they would not take her there, nor, as a matter of fact,had they had an intention of so doing. As he talked with the girlthe Swede feasted his eyes upon the beautiful lines of her faceand figure. She had grown tall and straight and slender towardmaturity since he had seen her in The Sheik's village on thatlong gone day. For years she had represented to him a certainfabulous reward. In his thoughts she had been but thepersonification of the pleasures and luxuries that many francswould purchase. Now as she stood before him pulsing with life andloveliness she suggested other seductive and alluring possibilities. He came closer to her and laid his hand upon her. The girlshrank from him. He seized her and she struck him heavily inthe mouth as he sought to kiss her. Then Jenssen entered the tent.

"Malbihn!" he almost shouted. "You fool!"

Sven Malbihn released his hold upon the girl and turned towardhis companion. His face was red with mortification.

"What the devil are you trying to do?" growled Jenssen."Would you throw away every chance for the reward? If wemaltreat her we not only couldn't collect a sou, but they'd sendus to prison for our pains. I thought you had more sense, Malbihn."

"I'm not a wooden man," growled Malbihn.

"You'd better be," rejoined Jenssen, "at least until we havedelivered her over in safety and collected what will be comingto us."

"Oh, hell," cried Malbihn. "What's the use? They'll be gladenough to have her back, and by the time we get there with hershe'll be only too glad to keep her mouth shut. Why not?"

"Because I say not," growled Jenssen. "I've always let youboss things, Sven; but here's a case where what I say has got togo--because I'm right and you're wrong, and we both know it."

"You're getting damned virtuous all of a sudden," growled Malbihn. "Perhaps you think I have forgotten about the inn keeper'sdaughter, and little Celella, and that nigger at--"

"Shut up!" snapped Jenssen. "It's not a matter of virtue andyou are as well aware of that as I. I don't want to quarrel withyou, but so help me God, Sven, you're not going to harm thisgirl if I have to kill you to prevent it. I've suffered and slavedand been nearly killed forty times in the last nine or ten yearstrying to accomplish what luck has thrown at our feet at last,and now I'm not going to be robbed of the fruits of successbecause you happen to be more of a beast than a man. Again Iwarn you, Sven--" and he tapped the revolver that swung in itsholster at his hip.

Malbihn gave his friend an ugly look, shrugged his shoulders,and left the tent. Jenssen turned to Meriem.

"If he bothers you again, call me," he said. "I shall alwaysbe near."

The girl had not understood the conversation that had beencarried on by her two owners, for it had been in Swedish; butwhat Jenssen had just said to her in Arabic she understood andfrom it grasped an excellent idea of what had passed betweenthe two. The expressions upon their faces, their gestures,and Jenssen's final tapping of his revolver before Malbihnhad left the tent had all been eloquent of the seriousness oftheir altercation. Now, toward Jenssen she looked for friendship,and with the innocence of youth she threw herself upon his mercy,begging him to set her free, that she might return to Korak and herjungle life; but she was doomed to another disappointment, forthe man only laughed at her roughly and told her that if she triedto escape she would be punished by the very thing that he hadjust saved her from.

All that night she lay listening for a signal from Korak. All aboutthe jungle life moved through the darkness. To her sensitive earscame sounds that the others in the camp could not hear--soundsthat she interpreted as we might interpret the speech of a friend,but not once came a single note that reflected the presenceof Korak. But she knew that he would come. Nothing short ofdeath itself could prevent her Korak from returning for her. What delayed him though?

When morning came again and the night had brought no succoringKorak, Meriem's faith and loyalty were still unshaken thoughmisgivings began to assail her as to the safety of her friend. It seemed unbelievable that serious mishap could haveovertaken her wonderful Korak who daily passed unscathedthrough all the terrors of the jungle. Yet morning came, themorning meal was eaten, the camp broken and the disreputablesafari of the Swedes was on the move northward with still nosign of the rescue the girl momentarily expected.

All that day they marched, and the next and the next, nor didKorak even so much as show himself to the patient little waitermoving, silently and stately, beside her hard captors.

Malbihn remained scowling and angry. He replied to Jenssen'sfriendly advances in curt monosyllables. To Meriem he didnot speak, but on several occasions she discovered him glaringat her from beneath half closed lids--greedily. The look sent ashudder through her. She hugged Geeka closer to her breast anddoubly regretted the knife that they had taken from her whenshe was captured by Kovudoo.

It was on the fourth day that Meriem began definitely togive up hope. Something had happened to Korak. She knew it. He would never come now, and these men would take her far away.Presently they would kill her. She would never see her Korak again.

On this day the Swedes rested, for they had marched rapidlyand their men were tired. Malbihn and Jenssen had gone fromcamp to hunt, taking different directions. They had been goneabout an hour when the door of Meriem's tent was lifted andMalbihn entered. The look of a beast was on his face.