"I?" Michael Petroff smiled and pointed to the cottage, which showed dimly through the shrubbery. "If that house tumbles down," he went on, "I will run away as fast as I can, and go back to my own country. Russia is my native land. Do you know about Russia? You could hold Germany on the palm of your hand, but you couldn't carry Russia even on your back. My country is so big." The "Rajah" considered this idea long and carefully. Then he said slowly, and as if speaking to himself: "If the world collapses, will my kingdom be destroyed too? The mountains and the temples, the forests and the towns, will they all fall in ruins?" Michael Petroff nodded, laughing maliciously. "I suppose so!" And now the "Rajah" nodded too. He bowed his head slowly several times. "All my subjects would be destroyed?" he asked, and nodded. He rose and shook his head. "No," he said solemnly, gazing at Michael Petroff. "That must not be! We cannot allow it." The "Rajah" turned away. Through the sunshine he walked, slowly and with dignity, back to the ward. Michael Petroff looked after him. He smiled and shook his head. "What a curious being he is though!" said he, laughing. And when he heard his own laughter, he laughed again, loudly and gaily and snapped his fingers. Ha, ha, ha! But the "Rajah" went to Engelhardt's room and informed him that he had decided to give up his own soul to him. "If the Gods deign to accept my sacrifice." Engelhardt, who lay in his bed as if he were already dead, opened his eyes and looked at the "Rajah." "Will you?" he gasped, while his hands and face twitched convulsively. "Yes." "I will try to hold out for three days yet!" gasped Engelhardt. The "Rajah" closed the door. He went to his own room and wrote, in a large rapid hand that wandered in all directions, a short letter to Dr. Maerz. "Your Excellency," he wrote, "It is the will of Heaven. We shall see the blue river no more. We shall see no more the flooded rice fields, nor the white elephants with bands of gold upon their tusks. It is the will of Heaven and we obey. Say to the English Government that we are too noble for bitterness or revenge. Say to the English Government that we are pleased to rescue our subjects and to yield up our soul, if the sacrifice is pleasing to the Gods." The "Rajah" rang for the attendant and gave him the letter, quietly and with great dignity. Then he undressed and went to bed, prepared to die. At nightfall, when it was growing dark, the lawyer, much excited, rushed into Michael Petroff's room, without knocking, or waiting at the door, as he was in the habit of doing. "Help me. Captain!" he whispered, and threw himself into the arms of the astonished Michael Petroff. The lawyer was trembling with fright. "What in the world--?" exclaimed Michael Petroff, surprised and startled. "He is standing in the corridor!" whispered the lawyer. "Who? What is the matter with you?"