This was the beginning of evil, for if no man is a hero to his _valet de chambre_, much less can he remain a god for long in the eyes of a curious woman.

Here, as in other matters, familiarity breeds contempt.
Leonard saw these dangers and spoke seriously to the dwarf on the subject.

Still he could not conceal from himself that, putting aside the question of his _ennui_, which made his conduct natural, at any rate in a savage, Otter's position was a difficult one.

So Leonard shrugged his shoulders and consoled himself as best he could with the reflection that, at least, his wife would teach the dwarf something of her language, which, by the way, he himself was practising assiduously under the tuition of Juanna and Soa.
At noon the party adjourned to the temple, escorted by a bevy of priests and soldiers, for in obedience to Juanna's commands the feast was to be celebrated in the daytime and not at night.

As before, the vast amphitheatre was crowded with thousands of human beings, but there was a difference in the arrangements.
Juanna and Otter had declined to occupy their lofty thrones, and sat in chairs at the feet of the huge and hideous stone idol, almost on the edge of the pool, Nam alone standing before them, while Leonard, Francisco, and the Settlement men ranged themselves on either side.