It was where the feast had been held two months before, when the priests were poisoned and the Bonsas chose the victims for sacrifice.

Already it was prepared for the great festival of to-morrow, when the Mungana should drown himself and Alan be married to the Asika.

There on the dais were the gold chairs in which they were to sit, and green branches of trees mixed with curious flags decked the vast amphitheatre beyond.

Moreover, there was the broad canal, and floating in the midst of it the hideous gold fetish, Big Bonsa.

The moon shone on its glaring, deathly eyes, its fish-like snout and its huge, pale teeth.