"
"As to your coming into the forest--for the White God lives in a
forest on the slopes of the mountain, lords--that will be easy since
the Motombo and the people will believe that I am trapping you there
to be a sacrifice, such as they desire for sundry reasons," and he
looked at the plump Stephen in a very suggestive way. "As to how you
are to kill the god without your tubes of iron, that I do not know.
But you are very brave and great magicians. Surely you can find a
way."
Here Brother John seemed to wake up again.
"Yes," he said, "we shall find a way. Have no fear of that, O Kalubi.
We are not afraid of the big ape whom you call a god. Yet it must be
at a price. We will not kill this beast and try to save your life,
save at a price."
"What price?" asked the Kalubi nervously. "There are wives and cattle
--no, you do not want the wives, and the cattle cannot be taken across
the lake. There are gold dust and ivory. I have already promised
these, and there is nothing more that I can give."
"The price is, O Kalubi, that you hand over to us to be taken away the
white woman who is called Mother of the Holy Flower, with her
daughter----"
"And," interrupted Stephen, to whom I had been interpreting, "the Holy
Flower itself, all of it dug up by the roots.
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