“But by degrees he contrived to turn the people against all the chiefs who would not fall in with his wishes, uniting the less powerful leaders against the greater. When these were overthrown, he turned the common people against the lesser chiefs who had cast down those above them, until in the end there were no rulers save those who did his will in all matters. “He began slowly with the sections nearest to his country, so that his influence spread as a spider’s web, ever growing and growing. And in the end, save for one or two sections of the Green Sakae who still held out, such as that of Carius whom you found in the desert, or the people of the old chief who was slain with Aryenis in the gate, all the Red, Green, and Brown Sakae were under his hand. And then, of course, we of the Blue Sakae no longer went to the councils, which had become only a play, there being but one voice at all times--that of the chief Shaman: those others spoke in seemingly independent guise, but in reality as they had been privily bidden. For though talking always of the freedom of men, the chief Shaman rules entirely by fear, and he that thwarts him dies, sometimes speedily by an arrow in the gate, more often slowly as he would have had Carius die, often still more lingeringly in their citadel, so that for many days such prisoners pray for the gate and the arrows as you and I might pray for heaven. “Seeing the danger, my brother and I--he rules over the northern part of our clan as my representative--sought to combine the other clans ere they were overcome, while yet our own people still held stanch. But our efforts had no result, save that we incurred the greater hatred of the chief Shaman--if, indeed, his hatred could increase. “But since we are a strong and warlike people, and since our folk, although in many ways independent and loving not at all any control, still hold to us, and are gifted with much sound sense in that they believe little of the talk of the Shaman spies, the Shamans have not so far dared to make open war upon us. “But they only wait their time, which, I think, draws near, now that the last of the Green Sakae chiefs has gone down. “Aryenis has told you somewhat of how she came to be taken prisoner, when she was staying with the old chief, and I had been called away. The party who sacked the palace were partly Brown Sakae raiders, partly Shamans, and these latter took her and the old man to their master. “Looking upon Aryenis with lustful eyes he desired her, but, further, he wished to use her for other ends by marrying her as a political move. He has already a wife and other women, but among the Shamans this would be no obstacle, and doubtless to placate the feelings of the pagan Sakae, who hold, like us, that a man should have but one wife, he would have divorced his other one.