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But as the festival also in accordance with custom necessarily consisted to a great extent of fights between condemned criminals and wild animals, especially man-monkeys, I declined to remain and be present; and Anuti, knowing my views with regard to such barbarous spectacles, did not press the point.
"Yet Bimbane's unsupported assertions have thus far completely satisfied you; do not forget that, Chia'gnosi," retorted Anuti. "However," he continued, "if you can persuade yourself to regard the question of the queen's guilt or innocence as an open one for a little while, I have no doubt of my ability to make you recognise the truth."
I retreated to my own apartments more puzzled than ever as to the true character of the queen; for while I could not help feeling that Anuti was perfectly sincere in his denunciation of her, the more I saw of her the more convinced did I become that there was some frightful misunderstanding somewhere, and that she was in reality a true, tender-hearted, generously disposed woman.
It is the great desire of her life to find this man, and no sooner did she see Anuti than the thought arose that he might be the one through whom she would attain the fulfilment of her desires; and by the exercise of her magic she stole his heart from me, and induced him to wed her.
The act of proclamation was performed from the steps leading up to the main entrance to the palace, upon the top landing of which stood Anuti, clad in the resplendent uniform of a general, supported by the nobles and chiefs and also by myself, in my uniform, which I had resumed at the urgent request of the king and his supporters; while the herald and trumpeters also stood upon the steps, but halfway down.
And when the forthcoming espousals of Anuti and myself were announced, Siluce forced her way into my presence, upbraided me for robbing her of her lover, and sought to slay me! Therefore I dismissed her from my household, and forbade her ever to appear again in my presence; but it was Anuti who caused her to be whipped, and afterwards ordered her banishment.
"I don't quite know how you came by your information, unless it was by means of your accursed magic," I said, "but in the main you are right. There are one or two errors with regard to detail, such, for example, as your reference to the `falsehoods' told me about you by Anuti and his friends, and also with regard to my reason for quitting the palace.
"Stop, stop, for mercy's sake stop your wild talk, and tell me what is the matter, and what you mean by all this rubbish about my being king!" I exclaimed, as soon as I had sufficiently recovered from my amazement to speak, at the same time dragging Anuti to his feet. "Ah, yes, I had forgotten!" replied Anuti. "Naturally Your Majesty does not understand. How should you, since no one has explained?
Much more was said by Anuti to the same effect, but as it was in the main but a reiteration and amplification of his previous statements, it need not be repeated here; suffice it to say that by the time we reached his house he had brought me to a state of mind which enabled me to recognise that, after all, it was just possible that I might be mistaken, that Bimbane might not be the sort of person I had allowed her to persuade me she was, and that Anuti and his friends were at least entitled to a dispassionate hearing.
This made me angry; and in my anger I flung myself upon her, snatched the ring from her thumb, and placed it upon my own finger. And and there it is, as you see," I finished lamely. "Yes. And you still live!" said Anuti thoughtfully. "It is wonderful; and it is proof conclusive that you are destined to be our king." "Nonsense, man," I retorted; "it is proof of nothing of the kind.
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