“I have heard with my own ears, and I have seen with my own eyes,” he shrieked, waving his trembling hands over his head, “and I shall carry the image of it into my grave.” “Who is he?” Stanley asked Soncco. “He is Lolo, one of the officers of the guard.” “Lolo, having heard and seen, you will tell me everything. Talk slowly and distinctly and keep nothing from me. Remember, your king commands it.” Stanley addressed the man in a tone of authority. This in a measure brought the officer to his senses, but the look of bewilderment did not leave his eyes, and his face retained the expression of fright and suffering. He bowed low, unsteadily, and asked forgiveness for intruding into the royal quarters without permission. “It is all right,” Stanley reassured him; “think as clearly as you can, and tell us plainly what happened. We understand your position.” In obedience to the command just given him Lolo told of the terrible spectacle he had witnessed. “I was on my rounds, inspecting the guard,” he panted, “and was just nearing the post close to the mountains. One of the soldiers was piling wood on the watch-fire, and the flames shot up, lighting the plain for many paces around. Without warning, a deafening roar came out of the blackness beyond the circle of light. We had never heard anything like it before, and the shock of it was so great that we could not stir from the places on which we stood. We were as men paralyzed, and simply stared into the darkness. A pair of points of green fire appeared; they were the eyes of some great beast. A form followed, gliding between the watch-fire and the stone wall of the mountainside, so that its outline fell full upon the smooth face of the precipice. And such a monster! It was higher than the Temple of the Sun in the Golden City, with eyes that burned into our hearts and brains.” The man had gesticulated wildly during the recital. He now wrung his hands in despair, and was on the point of breaking down. “Go on!” Stanley commanded. “Finish your story.” “The brute raised its great head; the jaws opened wide, like a serpent’s, and fangs, shaped like curved swords and longer than a man’s arm, flashed white in the flaring light, and then buried themselves in the breast of the nearest soldier. The man uttered not a sound, so quickly had death come. With a low, rumbling growl the beast or demon, I know not which it may be, turned and faded away into the darkness whence it had come, the dead soldier limply dangling from its mouth.” “Do you expect me to believe that?” Stanley demanded sternly. “Did you see it?” “Yes, yes. And others saw it too. I have spoken only the truth. The king shall have the proof of other eyes and other ears.” “Then go, all of you, as fast as you can. Command the people, in my name, to congregate in the centre of the camp, and to build a ring of fires around the outer border. Do not lose a minute. It is a matter of life and death.”