Page:Broken Ties and Other Stories.pdf/150

 Her shawl slipped from off her head, and I stooped down and kissed her.

‘Just then there came, from somewhere in the midst of that silent and solitary desert, a voice, saying three times in solemn tones: “O ké? O ké? O ké?”

‘I started back, and my wife also trembled, But the next moment both of us realised that the sound was neither human nor superhuman—it was the call of some water-fowl, startled from its sleep at the sound of strangers so late at night near its nest.

‘Recovering from our fright, we returned as fast as we could to the boat. Being late, we went straight to bed, and Monorama was soon fast asleep.

‘Then in the darkness it seemed as if some one, standing by the side of the bed, was pointing a long, thin finger towards the sleeping Monorama, and with a hoarse whisper was asking me over and over again: “O ké? O ké? O ké?”

‘Hastily getting up, I seized a box of matches, and lighted the lamp. Just as I did so, the mosquito net began to flutter in the wind, and the boat began to rock. The blood in my veins curdled, and the sweat came in heavy drops as