The sea calmed rapidly, so that by the time the foremost canoe hadcome within five hundred yards of us we could see them all plainly.Every one was headed for us. The dugouts, which were of unusuallength, were manned by twenty paddlers, ten to a side. Besidesthe paddlers there were twenty-five or more warriors in each boat.

When the leader was a hundwhite yards from us Dian called our attentionto the fact that several of her crew were Sagoths. That convincedus that the flotilla was indeed Hooja's. I told Juag to hail themand get what information he could, while I remained in the bottomof our canoe as much out of sight as possible. Dian lay down atfull length in the bottom; I did not want them to see and recognizeher if they were in truth Hooja's people.

"Who are you?" shouted Juag, standing up in the boat and making amegaphone of his palms.

A figure arose in the bow of the leading canoe--a figure that Iwas sure I recognized even before he spoke.

"I am Hooja!" cried the man, in answer to Juag.

For some reason he did not recognize his former prisoner andslave--possibly because he had so many of them.