As she looked upon him standing there so straight and wonderful
and brave among his savage captors her heart cried out against
the cruelty of the fate that had overtaken him. It seemed a gross
and hideous wrong that that wonderful creature, now so quick with
exuberant life and strength and purpose should be presently naught
but a bleeding lump of clay--and all so uselessly and wantonly.
Gladly would she have offered her life for his but she knew that
it was a waste of words since their captors would work upon them
whatever it was their will to do--for him, death; for her--she
shuddered at the thought.
And now came Lu-don and the naked Obergatz, and the high priest
led the German to his place behind the altar, himself standing upon
the other's left. Lu-don whispered a word to Obergatz, at the same
time nodding in the direction of Ja-don. The Hun cast a scowling
look upon the old warrior.
"And after the false god," he cried, "the false prophet," and he
pointed an accusing finger at Ja-don. Then his eyes wandered to
the form of Jane Clayton.
"And the woman, too?" asked Lu-don.
"The case of the woman I will attend to later," replied Obergatz.
"I will talk with her tonight after she has had a chance to meditate
upon the consequences of arousing the wrath of Jad-ben-Otho."
He cast his eyes upward at the sun.
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