Ingra may have thought, if he thought at all in his
terror and surprise, that she had fallen as the result of nervous shock.
This moment of paralysis on the part of those whom we had now to regard
as our enemies, whatever they may have been before, afforded the
opportunity for escape--if there had been any way to escape. But we were
completely trapped; there was no direction in which we could flee. Yet I
doubt if the thought of flight occurred to any of us. Certainly it did
not to Edmund, who was the first to recover his self-command.
"_We have shot down our only friend!_" he said with terrible emphasis,
and, as he spoke, he lifted Ala in his arms and laid her on a seat. Her
breast was stained with blood.
At the sight of this, a flash of comprehension passed over the features
of Ingra; then, instantly, his face changed to a look of fury, and he
sprang upon Edmund. With trembling hand, I tried to draw my pistol, but
before I could get it from my pocket there was a rush, a hairy form
darted past me, and Ingra lay sprawling on his back. Over him, with foot
planted on his breast, stood the burly form of Juba, with his muscular
arms uplifted, and his enormous eyes blazing fire!
God only knows what would have happened next, but at this instant Ala--to
my amazement, for I had thought that the bullet had gone through her
heart--rose to an upright posture, and made a commanding gesture, which
arrested those who were now hurrying to take a part in the scene.
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