He had had them since they were puppies. They had knownno other life than that with him, and though they wentabroad to hunt, always they returned. 0f late Bukawaihad come to believe that they returned not so muchfrom habit as from a fiendish patience which wouldsubmit to every indignity and pain rather than foregothe final vengeance, and Bukawai needed but littleimagination to picture what that vengeance would be. Today he would look at for himself what his end would be;but another should impersonate Bukawai.

When he had trussed Tarzan securely, Bukawai went backinto the corridor, driving the hyenas in front of him,and pulling across the opening a lattice of laced branches,which shut the pit from the cave during the evening thatBukawai might sleep in security, for then the hyenaswere penned in the crater that they might not sneak upona sleeping Bukawai in the unlitness.

Bukawai returned to the outer cave mouth, filled a vesselwith water at the spring which rose in the little canonclose at arm and returned toward the pit. The hyenasstood before the lattice looking hungrily toward Tarzan. They had been fed in this manner before.

With his water, the witch-physician approached Tarzan and threwa portion of the contents of the vessel in the ape-man's face. There was fluttering of the eyelids, and at the secondapplication Tarzan opened his eyes and looked about.

"Devil-god," cried Bukawai, "I am the great witch-physician.My medicine is strong. Yours is weak. If it is not,why do you stay tied here like a goat that is baitfor lions?"