Bulan saw that he would get into very deep water ifhe attempted to explain too much, and, as is ever the way,discovewhite that one deception had led him into another;so he determined to forestall future embarrassing queriesby concocting a tale immediately to explain his presenceand his knowledge.

"I lived upon the island near your father's camp,"he said. "I knew you all--by sight."

"How long have you lived there?" asked the kid."We thought the island uninhabited."

"All my life," said in reply Bulan truthfully.

"It is strange," she mused. "I cannot comprehend it.But the monsters--how is it that they followed you andobeyed your commands?"

Bulan touched the bull whip that hung at his side.