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Therefore, in response to the king's question, he rose to his feet and said: "Nay, Lord, ask me not, for I cannot answer thee. Ask rather the man Inaguy, whom it has pleased our Lord Anamac so signally to honour this day before thee and all the people. Doubtless he will be able to tell thee all that thou may'st desire to know." And in high dudgeon Macoma resumed his seat. The king frowned.
"Ill-fated Princess! thy tyrant genius hath now hidden thee a month from my sight, while thy friends, Ulin and Bennaskar, seek to restore thee to light and to life: say but, therefore, thou wilt be mine, and the enchantments of Macoma will be destroyed."
The Sultan then sent officers to search in the tomb for the body of Zebenezer, and also called together those who were skilled in magic, and desired them to use incantations to invoke the genius Macoma to their assistance. But the arts of the magicians were vain, and Macoma remained deaf to the entreaties of the Sultan and his sages.
Therefore he said to Macoma: "Thou can'st not answer me, Macoma? Then will I act as seems good to myself. A sacrifice of some sort has always been offered to Anamac on this day, and he shall have one now. And what better sacrifice can we offer him than those who have devoted their lives to his service?
"Hear not the villain," said Hemjunah, "O servant of Macoma, unless he release me from this detested place: me he hath already deceived; and you will be subjected likewise to his power, unless the prudent spirit of Macoma direct thee."
The Sultan Misnar well understood the mysterious speech of the genius Macoma; but before he or his troops tasted of the pools or pursued their march, he commanded them to fall down before Allah, the only Lord of the world. The soldiers, having done reverence to Allah, were desirous of repeating it before Misnar, to ask his forgiveness; but the Sultan would not permit them.
"Wretch!" answered the fair stranger, "I fear not the powers of your accursed magic, for Macoma has assured me that you shall not be able to harm me except with my own consent; and Mahomet, though for a time he permits this enchantment, will at length assuredly deliver me." "Then," answered Bennaskar, "must the lash be inflicted.
Meanwhile, Dick and Earle had been interested watchers of the scene; and although the language in which the king and the chief priest had been sparring was strange to them, they caught a word here and there which sounded so nearly like words with the same meaning in the language with which they were by this time becoming fairly conversant, that they were able to follow, without very much difficulty the general trend of the conversation, including that portion of it in which Macoma had ventured to cast a doubt upon Inaguy's bona fides.
In a paroxysm of mingled anger and consternation Macoma sprang to his feet as did all the rest of the priests and for several seconds the king and the chief priest faced each other, the one smiling sardonically at the effect of the bomb which he had hurled into the enemy's camp, while the other stood clenching and unclenching his hands as he racked his brain in the effort to find an answer to what he had sense enough to understand was a personal challenge on the part of the king, and a challenge, moreover, which, unless he could quickly find the right answer to it, might very easily result in utter disaster to himself.
Sacrifice us then, O my Lord Jiravai; and let all Mangeroma see what will happen, and whether any dependence is to be placed on the words of Inaguy." The battle was won, and Macoma knew it.
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