To-night they cannot leave, as we are all very hungry and must eat." "What must you eat ?" asked Jeekie suspiciously.
"O Priest," answered the chief with a deprecatory gesture, "when first we saw you we hoped that it would be the white man and yourself, for we have never tasted white man.

But now we fear that you will not consent to this, and as you are holy and the guardian of the god, we cannot eat you without your own consent.

Therefore fat dwarf must be our food, of which, however, there will be plenty for you as well as us." "You dog!" exclaimed Jeekie in a voice of furious indignation.

"Do you think that white men and their high-born companions, such as myself, were made to fill your vile stomachs?
I tell you that a meal of the deadly Bean would agree better with you, for if you dare so much as to look on us, or on any of the white race with hunger, agony shall seize your vitals and you and all your tribe shall die as though by poison.
Moreover, we do not touch the flesh of men, nor will we see it eaten.
It is our '_orunda_,' it is consecrate to us, it must not pass our lips, nor may our eyes behold it.

Therefore we will camp apart from you further up the stream and find our own food.