Page:Phosphor (1888).djvu/62

62 Her limbs and body were perfectly white and beautifully shaped, ending in hands and feet like those of human being's.

In place of the long coarse hair, covering the bodies of the others, she had very little, and what there was, was very short, thin, white, and silky.

When I looked at her head I shuddered.

It was well set on her white shoulders, but the horrible retreating forehead, deep sunken eyes, longish ears and protruding underjaw (all, like her body, covered with short, silky hair), gave her an even more awful appearance than those who most resembled baboons.

The leader advanced to meet her.

They conversed for some time in bastard Latin.

I could make out a few words here and there, and understood he was giving her an account of finding me in the "cave of serpents" (as he called it), about the snake killing their mate, and also about the death of the bird.

I gathered that the bird was held sacred on account of its killing the snakes, of which these creatures were in great terror.

He accused me of having been the cause of its death, and wished her to give him permission to kill me.

This she would not consent to, but came up to