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 “Messenger of the gods, I hear the warning,” said Iti; but he did not relinquish his purpose of attending at the appointed place. Had he turned at the second signal of danger he would have been in time to escape, for his foes were all lying hidden among the reeds and ferns on the top of the hill. Iti reached the top, and at the very summit was warned by the guardian bird; but by this time the cousins had met, and were exchanging salutations. While they were doing so, the men in ambush slowly crept round them, and at the voice of their leader crying “Behold the victim for sacrifice!” they rose on every side and pierced with their spears the impious man who had broken the law by eating the prohibited food, and had heard unheeding the winged messenger of the gods.