He had to deal with a man more dangerous than any wild beast of his experience: a proud man, a man wilful after the manner of princes, a man in love.

And he was going forth to speak to that man words of cold and worldly wisdom.
Could anything be more appalling?
What if that man should take umbrage at some fancied slight to his honour or disregard of his affections and suddenly "amok"?
The wise adviser would be the first victim, no doubt, and death would be his reward.

And underlying the horror of this situation there was the danger of those meddlesome fools, the white men.
A vision of comfortless exile in far-off Madura rose up before Babalatchi.

Wouldn't that be worse than death itself?
And there was that half-white woman with threatening eyes.

How could he tell what an incomprehensible creature of that sort would or would not do?
She knew so much that she made the killing of Dain an impossibility.