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Now the great enemies of this people of Zeu were lions, which at certain seasons of the year, I suppose when food grew scarce, descended from the slopes of a range of hills that stretched east and west at a distance of about fifty miles north of the oasis, and, crossing the intervening desert, killed many of the Zeu sheep, camels, and other cattle, and often enough any of the tribe whom they could catch.
Still, I said I would come too, partly because I had not shot a lion for many a day and had a score to settle with those beasts which, it may be remembered, nearly killed me on the Mountain of Mur, and partly because, knowing the desert and also the Zeu people much better than either the Professor or Orme, I thought that I might possibly be of service.
And you, Drydez," said he, turning to the Dutchman, "I shall enter you upon the information docket, as soon as I go down into the city." "Zeu may tu vat zeu plas mit me-te mayor bees my friend, an' he knowz vot me ams. Yuz sees zel no bronty, no zin! Vot yu to mit de fine, ah?" *
Then out that father dear and mother laughed, And glorious Hector took the helmet off, And laid it gleaming on the ground, and kissed His darling child, and danced him in his arm; And spoke in prayer to Zeus, and all the gods 'Zeu, and ye other gods, oh grant that this My child, like me, may grow the champion here As good in strength, and rule with might in Troy That men may say, "The boy is better far Than was his sire," when he returns from war, Bearing a gory harness, having slain A foeman, and his mothers heart rejoice.
This I held before his eyes, saying: "Disobey, and there will be an account to settle when you come into the presence of her who sent you forth, for even if we four should die" and I looked at him meaningly "think not that you will be able to hide this matter; there are too many witnesses." Then, without more words, he saluted the sacred ring, and we all went back to Zeu.
After weeks of weary desert travel if I remember right, it was exactly a fortnight after the dog Pharaoh, of which I shall soon have plenty to say, had come into Orme's possession we reached an oasis called Zeu, where I had halted upon my road down to Egypt.
Through an interpreter who knew Arabic, for not even Higgs could understand the peculiar Zeu dialect, he explained in excited and incoherent words that the beasts lay up among the sand-hills not very far away, where some thick reeds grew around a little spring of water. Would we not come out and kill them and earn the blessing of the Zeus?
I didn't mean anything, except that I am going to teach that beast the difference between a white man and a Zeu." Then we began our march, following the blood tracks up and down the steep sand-slopes. When we had been at it for about half-an-hour our spirits were cheered by catching sight of the lioness on a ridge five hundred yards away.
I told him, whereon he said: "What have you to do with these savages and their troubles, lords? If a few of them are killed it is no matter, but as you should know, O Doctor, if you wish to hunt lions there are plenty in that land whither you travel, seeing that the lion is the fetish of the Fung and therefore never killed. But the desert about Zeu is dangerous and harm may come to you."
So, although I was burning to get forward, I agreed with the others that it would be wise to accede to the request of the leader of our caravan, a clever and resourceful, but to my mind untrustworthy Abati of the name of Shadrach, and camp in Zeu for a week or so to rest and feed our camels, which had wasted almost to nothing on the scant herbage of the desert.
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