Page:Doughty--Mirrikh or A woman from Mars.djvu/10

 neighborhood of the pagoda, a ruinous old affair, that I had already visited, surrounded by image houses, in one of which  is an immense gilded Buddha with mother of pearl finger  nails and eyes.

Both the mound upon which it stands and the pagoda itself are built of curious little bricks, and from the summit  of the former a splendid view of the city, and even as far as  the great Makong river, can be had. Any one is at liberty to visit the pagoda; the prejudices of religion sit very lightly  upon these Cambodians. I was just debating whether it would not be a good idea to climb the steps and look down  upon Panompin by moonlight, when a sudden shouting behind aroused me from my reverie and set me on the alert at once.

There was some excitement further down the street; I could see an angry crowd surging, and almost in the same  instant I caught sight of a tall figure running toward me. It was the man with the concealed face.

Off the main street lights were not plentiful. Looking back I now perceived that the mob was coming in my direction; but I had scarcely time to reflect upon this when the  man was at my side and I saw that his face was no longer  hidden.

As any attempt to describe my amazement when I looked upon that face would fail to do it justice, I will simply state  that the object of the singular mask was now apparent. The lower part of the face was beardless and black.

“Friend, you are an Englishman—for God’s sake help me!” he exclaimed, pausing for an instant. “I met with an accident back there—they are chasing me—they may kill  me unless I can manage to get out of their sight.”

What had happened to the man? His turban was gone as well as his mask, his clothing was torn and covered with  dust. As he stood beside me I noticed that he carried a small hand bag—the kind that we Americans call a “grip sack”—on one side of which was a splash of blood.

Now, I thought I knew something about a Cambodian mob, for only the week before I had seen an unfortunate  Chinaman chased through the streets of Panompin and  almost torn limb from limb, though for what offense I did  not learn, and I saw at a glance that unless something was  done, and that pretty quickly, the man who had appealed to  me would be beyond need of help.

As it happened, the residence of the American Consul was