Be sure of this, Councillors, that if I die, your king will die; whereas if I live, your king may live.

You ask me of this matter.

Where shall I begin?
Shall I begin with the tale of two men seated together some nights ago in a hut so dark that no eyes could see in it, save perchance the eyes of a wizard?
What did they talk of in that hut, and who were those men?
They talked, I think, of the death of a king and of the crowning of a king.

They talked of a price to be paid for a certain medicine; and one of them had a royal air, and one----" "Will ye hearken to this wild babbler while your king lies dying before your eyes ?" broke in Hokosa, in a shrill, unnatural voice; for almost palsied with fear as he was at Owen's mysterious words, he still retained his presence of mind.

"Listen now: what is he, and what did he say?
He is one who comes hither to preach a new faith to us; he comes, he says, on an embassy from the King of Heaven, who has power over all things, and who, so these white men preach, can give power to His servants.