When Muda Saffir turned from the two Dyaks who hadbrought him news of the treasure he hastened to thelong-house and arousing the chief of the tribe whodomiciled there explained that necessity required thatthe rajah have at once two war prahus fully manned.Now the power of the crafty old Malay extended from oneend of this great river on which the long-house lay tothe other, and though not all the tribes admittedallegiance to him, yet there were few who would notfurnish him with men and boats when he required them;for his piratical cruises carried him often up and downthe stream, and with his savage horde it was possiblefor him to wreak summary and terrible vengeance uponthose who opposed him.

When he had explained his wishes to the chief, thelatter, though at heart hating and fearing Muda Saffir,dared not refuse; but to a second proposition he offeredstrong opposition until the rajah threatened to wipe outhis entire tribe should he not accede to his demands.

The thing which the chief demurred to had occurredto Muda Saffir even as he walked back from the riverafter conversing with the two Dyak messengers. The thoughtof regaining the treasure, the while he administeredpunishment to the traitorous Ninaka, filled his soulwith savage happiness. Now if he could but once morepossess himself of the girl! And why not? There wasonly the sick old man, a Chinaman and von Horn to prevent it,and the chances were that they all were asleep.

So he explained to the chief the plan thathad so suddenly sprung to his wicked mind.

"Three men with parangs may easily quiet the old man,his assistant and the Chinaman," he said,"and then we can take the girl along with us."

The chief refused at first, point-blank, to be a party to anysuch proceedings. He knew what had happened to the SakkaranDyaks after they had murdered a party of Englishmen,and he did not purpose laying himself and his tribe opento the vengeance of the white men who came in many boatsand with countless guns and cannon to take a terrible tollfor every drop of white blood spilled.

So it was that Muda Saffir was forced to compromise,and be satisfied with the chief's assistance inabducting the girl, for it was not so difficulta matter to convince the head hunter that she reallyhad belonged to the rajah, and that she had been stolenfrom him by the old man and the doctor.

Virginia slept in a room with three Dyak women.It was to this apartment that the chief finally consentedto dispatch two of his warriors. The men crept noiselesslywithin the pitch dark interior until they came to the sleepingform of one of the Dyak women. Cautiously they awoke her.

"Where is the white girl?" asked one of the men in alow whisper. "Muda Saffir has sent us for her.Tell her that her father is very sick and wants her,but do not mention Muda Saffir's name lest shemight not come."

The whispering awakened Virginia and she lay wonderingwhat the cause of the midnight conference might be,for she recognized that one of the speakers was a man,and there had been no man in the apartment when she hadgone to sleep earlier in the night.

Presently she heard some one approach her, and a momentlater a woman's voice addressed her; but she could notunderstand enough of the native tongue to make outprecisely the message the speaker wished to convey.The words "father," "sick," and "come," however shefinally understood after several repetitions, for shehad picked up a smattering of the Dyak language duringher enforced association with the natives.

The moment that the possibilities suggested by thesefew words dawned upon her, she sprang to her feet andfollowed the woman toward the door of the apartment.Immediately without the two warriors stood upon theverandah awaiting their victim, and as Virginia passedthrough the doorway she was seized roughly from eitherside, a heavy hand was clapped over her mouth,and before she could make even an effort to rebelshe had been dragged to the end of the verandah,down the notched log to the ground and a moment laterfound herself in a war prahu which was immediatelypushed into the stream.

Since Virginia had come to the long-house after herrescue from the ourang outangs, supposedly by von Horn,Rajah Muda Saffir had kept very much out of sight,for he knew that should the girl see him she wouldrecognize him as the man who had stolen her fromthe Ithaca. So it came as a mighty shock to the girlwhen she heard the hated tones of the man whom shehad knocked overboard from the prahu two nights before,and realized that the bestial Malay sat close beside her,and that she was again in his power. She looked nowfor no mercy, nor could she hope to again escape him soeasily as she had before, and so she sat with bowed headin the bottom of the swiftly moving craft, buried inanguished thoughts, hopeless and miserable.

Along the stretch of black river that the prahu and herconsort covered that night Virginia Maxon saw no livingthing other than a single figure in a small sampanwhich hugged the shadows of the shore as the two largerboats met and passed it, nor answered their hail.

Where von Horn and his two Dyak guides had landed,Muda Saffir's force disembarked and plunged into the jungle.Rapidly they hastened along the well known trail towardthe point designated by the two messengers, to come uponthe spot almost simultaneously with the party underBarunda's uncle, who, startled by the two shotsseveral hours previously, had been cautiously searchingthrough the jungle for an explanation of them.

They had gone warily for fear that they might stumbleupon Ninaka's party before Muda Saffir arrived withreinforcements, and but just now had they discoveredthe prostrate forms of their two companions.One was dead, but the other was still consciousand had just sufficient vitality left after the comingof his fellows to whisper that they had been treacherouslyshot by the younger white man who had been at the long-housewhere they had found Muda Saffir--then the fellow expiredwithout having an opportunity to divulge the secret hidingplace of the treasure, over the top of which his body lay.

Now Bulan had been an interested witness of allthat transpired. At first he had been inclined to comeout of his hiding place and follow von Horn, but so muchhad already occurred beneath the branches of the greattree where the chest lay hidden that he decided to waituntil morning at least, for he was sure that he had byno means seen the last of the drama which surroundedthe heavy box. This belief was strengthened by thehaste displayed by both Ninaka and von Horn to escapethe neighborhood as quickly as possible, as though theyfeared that they might be apprehended should they delayeven for a moment.

Number Three and Number Twelve still slept, not havingbeen aroused even by the shots fired by von Horn.Bulan himself had dozed after the departure of thedoctor, but the advent of Barunda's uncle with hisfollowers had awakened him, and now he lay wide eyedand alert as the second party, under Muda Saffir,came into view when they left the jungle trailand entered the clearing.

His interest in either party was but passive untilhe saw the khaki blouse, short skirt and trim legginsof the captive walking between two of the Dyaks of MudaSaffir's company. At the same instant he recognizedthe evil features of the rajah as those of the man whohad directed the abduction of Virginia Maxon fromthe wrecked Ithaca.

Like a great cat Bulan drew himself cautiously to all fours--every nerve and muscle taut with the excitement of the moment.Before him he saw a hundred and fifty ferocious Borneo head hunters,armed with parangs, spears and sumpitans. At his back slept twoalmost brainless creatures--his sole support against the awful oddshe must face before he could hope to succor the divinity whose imagewas enshrined in his brave and simple heart.

The muscles stood out upon his giant forearm as he gripped the stockof his bull whip. He believed that he was going to his death,for mighty as were his thews he knew that in the face of the hordethey would avail him little, yet he saw no other way than to sitsupinely by while the girl went to her doom, and that he could not do.He nudged Number Twelve. "Silence!" he whispered, and "Come!The girl is here. We must save her. Kill the men,"and the same to the hairy and terrible Number Three.

Both the creatures awoke and rose to their handsand knees without noise that could be heard abovethe chattering of the natives, who had crowded forwardto view the dead bodies of von Horn's victims.Silently Bulan came to his feet, the two monstersat his back rising and pressing close behind him.Along the denser shadows the three crept to a positionin the rear of the natives. The girl's guards hadstepped forward with the others to join in the discussionthat followed the dying statement of the murdered warrior,leaving her upon the outer fringe of the crowd.

For an instant a sudden hope of escape sprang toVirginia Maxon's mind--there was none between herand the jungle through which they had just passed.Though unknown dangers lurked in the black and uncannydepths of the dismal forest, would not death in anyform be far preferable to the hideous fate which awaitedher in the person of the bestial Malay pirate?

She had turned to take the first step toward freedomwhen three figures emerged from the wall of darknessbehind her. She saw the war-caps, shields, and war-coats, and her heart sank. Here were others of therajah's party--stragglers who had come just in time tothwart her plans. How large these men were--she neverhad seen a native of such giant proportions; and nowthey had come quite close to her, and as the foremoststooped to speak to her she shrank back in fear. Then, to her surprise, she heard in whispered English;"Come quietly, while they are not looking."

She thought the voice familiar, but could not place it,though her heart whispered that it might belong to theyoung stranger of her dreams. He reached out and tookher hand and together they turned and walked quickly towardthe jungle, followed by the two who had accompanied him.

Scarcely had they covered half the distance before oneof the Dyaks whose duty it had been to guard the girldiscovered that she was gone. With a cry he alarmedhis fellows, and in another instant a sharp pair of eyescaught the movement of the four who had now broken into a run.

With savage shouts the entire force of head hunterssprang in pursuit. Bulan lifted Virginia in his armsand dashed on ahead of Number Twelve and Number Three.A shower of poisoned darts blown from half a hundredsumpitans fell about them, and then Muda Saffir calledto his warriors to cease using their deadly blow-pipeslest they kill the girl.

Into the jungle dashed the four while close behind themcame the howling pack of enraged savages. Now oneclosed upon Number Three only to fall back dead witha broken neck as the giant fingers released their holdupon him. A parang swung close to Number Twelve,but his own, which he had now learned to wield withfearful effect, clove through the pursuing warrior'sskull splitting him wide to the breast bone.

Thus they fought the while they forced their way deeperand deeper into the dark mazes of the entangled vegetation.The brunt of the running battle was borne by the two monsters,for Bulan was carrying Virginia, and keeping a little aheadof his companions to insure the girl's greater safety.

Now and then patches of moonlight filtering throughoccasional openings in the leafy roofing revealedto Virginia the battle that was being waged for possessionof her, and once, when Number Three turned toward herafter disposing of a new assailant, she was horrifiedto see the grotesque and terrible face of the creature.A moment later she caught sight of Number Twelve'shideous face. She was appalled.

Could it be that she had been rescued from the Malayto fall into the hands of creatures equally heartlessand entirely without souls? She glanced up at the faceof him who carried her. In the darkness of the nightshe had not yet had an opportunity to see the featuresof the man, but after a glimpse at those of his twocompanions she trembled to think of the hideous thingthat might be revealed to her.

Could it be that she had at last fallen into the handsof the dreaded and terrible Number Thirteen!Instinctively she shrank from contact with the manin whose arms she had been carried without a traceof repugnance until the thought obtruded itself thathe might be the creature of her father's madexperimentation, to whose arms she had been doomedby the insane obsession of her parent.

The man shifted her now to give himself freer useof his right arm, for the savages were pressing moreclosely upon Twelve and Three, and the change madeit impossible for the girl to see his face evenin the more frequent moonlit places.

But she could see the two who ran and fought justbehind them, and she shuddered at her inevitable fate.For should the three be successful in bearing her awayfrom the Dyaks she must face an unknown doom, whileshould the natives recapture her there was the terribleMalay into whose clutches she had already twice fallen.

Now the head hunters were pressing closer,and suddenly, even as the girl looked directly at him,a spear passed through the heart of Number Three.Clutching madly at the shaft protruding from hismisshapen body the grotesque thing stumbled on for adozen paces, and then sank to the ground as two of thebrown warriors sprang upon him with naked parangs.An instant later Virginia Maxon saw the hideousand grisly head swinging high in the hand of a dancing,whooping savage.

The man who carried her was now forced to turn and fightoff the enemy that pressed forward past Number Twelve.The mighty bull whip whirled and cracked across the headsand faces of the Dyaks. It was a formidable weaponwhen backed by the Herculean muscles that rolledand shifted beneath Bulan's sun-tanned skin,and many were the brown warriors that went downbeneath its cruel lash.

Virginia could see that the creature who bore her wasnot deformed of body, but she shrank from the thoughtof what a sight of his face might reveal. How muchlonger the two could fight off the horde at their heelsthe girl could not guess; and as a matter of factshe was indifferent to the outcome of the strange,running battle that was being waged with herselfas the victor's spoil.

The country now was becoming rougher and more open.The flight seemed to be leading into a range of low hills,where the jungle grew less dense, and the way rocky and rugged.They had entered a narrow canyon when Number Twelve went downbeneath a half dozen parangs. Again the girl saw a bloody headswung on high and heard the fierce, wild chorus of exulting victory.She wondered how long it would be ere the creature beneath herwould add his share to the grim trophies of the hunt.

In the interval that the head hunters had pausedto sever Number Twelve's head, Bulan had gainedfifty yards upon them, and then, of a sudden, he cameto a sheer wall rising straight across the narrow trailhe had been following. Ahead there was no way--a catcould scarce have scaled that formidable barrier--butto the right he discerned what appeared to be a steepand winding pathway up the canyon's side, and with abound he clambered along it to where it surmountedthe rocky wall.

There he turned, winded, to await the oncoming foe.Here was a spot where a single man might defy an army,and Bulan had been quick to see the natural advantagesof it. He placed the girl upon her feet behind a protrudingshoulder of the canyon's wall which rose to a considerabledistance still above them. Then he turned to face the mobthat was surging up the narrow pathway toward him.

At his feet lay an accumulation of broken rock fromthe hillside above, and as a spear sped, singing,close above his shoulder, the occurrence suggested a usefor the rough and jagged missiles which lay about himin such profusion. Many of the pieces were large,weighing twenty and thirty pounds, and some even asmuch as fifty. Picking up one of the larger Bulanraised it high above his head, and then hurled it downamongst the upclimbing warriors. In an instantpandemonium reigned, for the heavy boulder had moweddown a score of the pursuers, breaking arms and legsin its meteoric descent.

Missile after missile Bulan rained down upon thestruggling, howling Dyaks, until, seized by panic,they turned and fled incontinently down into the depthsof the canyon and back along the narrow trail they had come,and then superstitious fear completed the rout that theflying rocks had started, for one whispered to anotherthat this was the terrible Bulan and that he had but luredthem on into the hills that he might call forth allhis demons and destroy them.

For a moment Bulan stood watching the retreating savages,a smile upon his lips, and then as the sudden equatorialdawn burst forth he turned to face the girl.

As Virginia Maxon saw the fine features of the giantwhere she had expected to find the grotesque andhideous lineaments of a monster, she gave a quicklittle cry of pleasure and relief.

"Thank God!" she cried fervently. "Thank God thatyou are a man--I thought that I was in the clutchesof the hideous and soulless monster, Number Thirteen."

The smile upon the young man's face died. An expressionof pain, and hopelessness, and sorrow swept across his features.The girl saw the change, and wondered, but how could she guessthe grievous wound her words had inflicted?