'I can't be bothered,' said the major-domo, when my guide asked this permission. 'I am a very sick man, very, very sick.'
'What's the matter with you?' I asked.
'Nothing,' he said, 'and that's the trouble. I am just sick of nothing.'
'You are in a very bad state,' I said.
He glanced up at me with a look of animation. 'Do you really believe so?' he said.
'There's no doubt about it,' I assured him.
'Where did you say you wanted to go?' he asked.
'I have to come to visit my friend, Zor, who is the guest of Meeza, the king.'
'Then what are you waiting for?' he demanded, angrily. 'Get out of here and leave me alone;' so my guide and I passed on out of the chamber.
'Sometimes I think he is crazy,' said my guide. 'Most people are.'
'I wonder if he could be,' I replied.
As we passed near the kitchen where Kleeto had worked, we met her face-to-face in the corridor. She looked squarely at me but without the faintest indication of recognition. I wondered if my disguise was that effective or if Kleeto had just been too bright to show that she recognized me.
As we proceeded farther into the palace, my guide moved more and more slowly. Something seemed to be troubling him, and at last it came out.
'Perhaps you had better go on alone from here,' he said.
'I don't know where to go,' I replied. 'Why can't you come with me?'
'Many strange things have been happening in the palace,' he replied 'and Meeza may not be so glad to see a stranger.'
'What has happened?' I asked.
'Well for one thing, Moko, the king's son, has disappeared; so has the beautiful Sarian girl who was to be sacrificed to Ogar; then there was a prisoner named David, who disappeared. His hands were tied behind him, and he was locked up in a cell. He also was to have been sacrificed to Ogar; but when they went to the cell to get him, he had disappeared.'
'How very strange!' I exclaimed. 'Haven't they any idea what became of him, or of Moko, or of the girl from Sari?'
'Not the slightest,' he replied; 'but Bruma will find out what became of them, as soon as he finds another sacrifice for Ogar; then Ogar will tell him.'
'I shouldn't think Bruma would have any difficulty finding a sacrifice,' I said.
'Well, he has to have a very special one,' replied my guide. 'It should be a man who is not a Jukan, or, perhaps, a Jukan from another village;' then he turned suddenly and looked at me strangely. I didn't have to ask, to know what was in his mind.
Chapter XIII
I HAD plenty on my mind as we approached the quarters of Meeza. I think I must have felt something like a condemned man who is hoping that a higher court will order a new trial, or the governor issue him a pardon. There was about that much hope, and that was about all there was. The looks that that fellow had given me seemed to have sealed my doom, for if the thought had occurred to him, it would certainly occur to Bruma, who was looking for a victim. He kept looking at me with that funny, wild expression in his eyes; and presently he said, 'I think Ogar will be pleased with you.'
'I hope so,' I replied.
'Right ahead of us lie the quarters of Meeza,' he said. 'Perhaps we shall find Bruma there.'
'Well,' I said, 'thank you for bringing me here. If you feel you might get in trouble for bringing a stranger to the king's quarters, you may leave me now, for I can find my way alone.'
'Oh, no,' he said. 'I shall go all the way with you because I am sure that you will be very welcome and that I shall be praised for bringing you.'
Presently we entered a large room in which were many people. At the far end was a platform upon which Meeza was seated. The king was flanked on either side by some ten or twelve husky warriors, there to protect him against any of his subjects who might suddenly develop a homicidal mania. Although Meeza wore no crown, other than his feather headdress, I am sure that his head was not only uneasy but extremely insecure.
In the center of the room, a man was standing with his arms in a grotesque position; and his features were contorted into an expression of fiendish malevolence. My guide indicated him with a nod of his head and a wink, as he nudged me in the ribs with his elbow.
'He's crazy,' he said. 'He thinks he is Ogar's brother.'
'And he's not?' I asked.
'Don't be a fool,' snapped my guide. 'He's crazy. I am Ogar's brother.'
'Oh,' I said. 'He's very crazy, indeed.'
The man certainly presented a most startling appearance, standing absolutely rigid, not a muscle moving, his eyes staring straight ahead. Presently a man ran forward and commenced to turn cartwheels around him. My guide nudged me again. 'He's crazy, too,' he said.
No one seemed to pay any attention either to the gentleman with delusions of grandeur or his whirling satellite. I could not help but think, as I watched these two, how close to the borderline of insanity some of the so- called great men of the outer crust must have been, for certainly many of them have appeared to be motivated by delusions of grandeur; and you doubtless will be able to think of several of your own time who loved to strike poses.
'Ah,' said my guide. 'There is Bruma now.' Suddenly he appeared very excited. He seized me by the arm and dragged me across the floor toward a fat, greasy-looking individual with a feather headdress fully as large as that worn by Meeza but consisting of black feathers instead of white.
My guide grew more and more excited as we approached Bruma. I racked my brain for some plan of escape from my dilemma; but things looked pretty black for me, with, as far as I could see, not a single chance for escape. Trembling with excitement, the fellow dragged me into Bruma's presence.
'Here, Bruma,' he cried, 'is a-'
That was as far as he got. Suddenly he stiffened, his eyes rolled up and set, and he pitched forward to the floor at Bruma's feet, in the throes of an epileptic fit. As he lay there, jerking spasmodically and frothing at the mouth, Bruma looked inquiringly at me.
'What did he want?' he demanded.
'He was about to say, 'Here is a good friend of mine, who is looking for a man named Zor,'' I replied.
'And who are you?' he asked.
'I am Napoleon Bonaparte,' I replied.
Bruma shook his head. 'I never heard of you,' be said. 'Zor is over there, near the king; but I still think he would make a good sacrifice for Ogar.'
'And Meeza doesn't think so?' I asked.
'No,' replied Bruma, emphatically; then he leaned close to me and whispered 'Meeza is crazy.'
My guide was still enjoying his fit, which was a lucky break for me, as it probably would give me time to find Zor and get out of there before he regained consciousness; so I left Bruma and walked over toward the throne.
It didn't take me long to find Zor; and, though I went and stood directly in front of him, he did not recognize me. People with whom he had been talking were standing near, and I did not dare reveal my identity in their presence.
Finally, I touched him on the arm. 'Come with me a minute,' I said. 'There is a friend of yours over here, who wants to see you for a minute.'
'What friend?' he demanded.
'The friend with whom you worked in the garden of Gluck ,' I replied.
