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mighty creature who had defeated them with his bare hands, and slunk quickly

out into the darkness of the campong.

When they caught up with Rajah Muda Saffir near the beach, they narrated a

fearful tale of fifty terrible white men with whom they had battled valiantly, killing

many, before they had been compelled to retreat in the face of terrific odds. They

swore that even then they had only returned because the girl was not in the

house--otherwise they should have brought her to their beloved master as he had

directed.

Now Muda Saffir believed nothing that they said, but he was well pleased with the

great treasure which had so unexpectedly fallen into his hands, and he decided to

make quite sure of that by transporting it to his own land--later he could return

for the girl. So the ten war prahus of the Malay pulled quietly out of the little

cove upon the east side of the island, and bending their way toward the south

circled its southern extremity and bore away for Borneo.

In the bungalow within the north campong Sing and Number Thirteen had lifted

Professor Maxon to his bed, and the Chinaman was engaged in bathing and

bandaging the wound that had left the older man unconscious. The white giant

stood beside him watching his every move. He was trying to understand why

sometimes men killed one another and again defended and nursed. He was

curious as to the cause of his own sudden change in sentiment toward Professor

Maxon. At last he gave the problem up as beyond his powers of solution, and at

Sing's command set about the task of helping to nurse the man whom he

considered the author of his unhappiness and whom a few short minutes before

he had come to kill.

As the two worked over the stricken man their ears were suddenly assailed by a

wild commotion from the direction of the workshop. There were sounds of

battering upon wood, loud growls and roars, mingled with weird shrieks and

screams and the strange, uncanny gibbering of brainless things.

Sing looked quickly up at his companion.

"Whallee mallee?" he asked.

The giant did not answer. An expression of pain crossed his features, and he

shuddered--but not from fear.

The Monster Men