At a sign from Ngcenika the guards fell back some twenty yards. Behind them were the dense ranks of armed warriors, all craning eagerly forward to watch what was to follow. At about the same distance in front sat the group of chiefs and councillors, so that the prisoner and the sorceress were completely hemmed in. "White wizard--white dog!" she began, standing within striking distance. "Wizard indeed! What is thy magic worth? Dost thou not fear me?" Eustace, seeing through the repulsive mass of gew-gaws which represented the juggling line of business, realised that he had to deal with a powerful, broadly built, middle-aged woman of about five foot ten. She looked hard and muscular, and as strong as any two men--in fact, no mean antagonist, even had he been similarly armed, and he was unarmed. "No, I do not fear you," he replied quietly, keeping his eyes upon hers, like a skilful fencer. The answer seemed rather to amuse than irritate her. "He does not fear me!" she repeated. "Ha! _Inyoka_, [Serpent], does he fear thee!" she cried, darting the serpent's head within a couple of inches of the prisoner's face. The reptile hissed hideously, but Eustace, who knew that it had been rendered harmless, and that it must long since have spat its venom glands empty, did not allow himself to be disconcerted by this. A murmur of wonder arose from the spectators. [The _rinkhaal_, a variety of cobra, has the faculty of being able, when angry, to eject an acrid, venomous saliva, to a distance of about six feet.] "He is not afraid! The white wizard is not afraid!" they cried. "Dost thou dare to stand before me while I strike thee? Is thy charm potent enough, O white wizard?" said Ngcenika, raising the assegai in the air. "I dare." "Present thy breast, then. Give thy heart to my stroke. Let thy `charm' protect thee if it can." A desperate plan had occurred to Eustace--to wrench the assegai from the hag's hand and make a dash for the forest. But even concurrently with the idea, he realised the absolute impracticability of it. He more, than doubted his ability to disarm his adversary; he had no doubt at all as to the certainty of his being seized long before he could accomplish that feat. No--he must stand up to the blow. It was his only chance, and at any rate his death would be a swift and painless one. The dark, brawny arm of the sorceress was upraised, her muscular fingers gripped the assegai haft a few inches from the blade. The shining spear-head gleamed aloft. Not once did his glance wander from that cruel demon-face confronting him. Yet between it and him floated the sweet, oval contour of another very different countenance. "Love of my life--preserve that life once more for thyself!" he murmured with the impassioned fervour of an invocation of faith. His lips moved. "Ha! Thou repeatest thy charm, O white wizard," said Ngcenika. "Is it stronger than mine? Is it stronger than mine?"