The Wusun had risen to their feet and were pressing closer. They waited for their leader to speak. The Gur-Khan hesitated as if weighing the situation. "This man," Wu Fang Chien pointed to Gray, "has come to Sungan with lies in his mouth. He has pulled a veil over his true purpose. And he is an enemy of Mongolia. You will do well to give him up." Bassalor Danek turned his thoughtful gaze on Gray. "You have heard what Wu Fang Chien has said," he observed. "You speak his tongue. Tell me why you have come through the walls of Sungan. In the lifetime of ten men no stranger has come to Sungan before this." Gray's head lifted decisively. "Wu Fang Chien," he responded slowly, "has said that I killed his men. Is this a crime in one man, when it is not such in another? Just a little while ago the soldiers of the Chinese surprised and destroyed a caravan of my people without warning and without cause." "They had no right to come where they did," asserted the mandarin blandly. "They were coming to Sungan." Wu Fang Chien smiled and waved his brown hand, as if brushing aside the protest of a child. "Foreign devils without a god. You were warned to keep away." The white man's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I came to find a woman of my people that you seized. She is here in Sungan." Bassalor Danek looked up quickly. "When did she come to Sungan?" "Several days ago. And Wu Fang Chien kept her. He planned to bring me here, in order to kill me." Gray met the gaze of the old man squarely. "This woman and I, Bassalor Khan, are descended from the same fathers as your race. We were coming to Sungan to seek you. And this man has tried to prevent that. A score of men have lost their lives because of it." The mandarin would have spoken, but the Gur-Khan raised his hand. "This is a matter, Wu Fang Chien," he said with dignity, "that cannot be decided in a wind's breath. I will keep this stranger. I will hear his story! At this time to-morrow, after sunset, come alone to the hall and I will announce my decision. Until then I will think." Wu Fang Chien frowned, but accepted the verdict with the calmness that was the mark of his character. "Remember, Bassalor Danek," he warned, "that these people are devils from the outer world. And remember the covenant which spares your people their lives. Sungan is in the hollow of the hand of Buddha. And Buddha is lord of Mongolia." The Gur-Khan seemed not to hear him. "Truly it is strange," he mused. "Twice in one moon strangers have come before me, with the same tale on their lips. This man, and the woman that my young men took from your priests because she had the face and form of one of our race. She, also, is in my dwelling." CHAPTER XIX CONCERNING A CITY