"Ye have the sign of the snake," I answered.
"My lord, it is not enough. The snake may have been placed there since
the man's childhood. Show us a sign, and it will suffice. But we will
not move without a sign."
The others gave a decided assent, and I turned in perplexity to Sir
Henry and Good, and explained the situation.
"I think that I have it," said Good exultingly; "ask them to give us a
moment to think."
I did so, and the chiefs withdrew. So soon as they had gone Good went
to the little box where he kept his medicines, unlocked it, and took
out a note-book, in the fly-leaves of which was an almanack. "Now look
here, you fellows, isn't to-morrow the 4th of June?" he said.
We had kept a careful note of the days, so were able to answer that it
was.
"Very good; then here we have it--'4 June, total eclipse of the moon
commences at 8.15 Greenwich time, visible in Teneriffe--South
Africa, &c.' There's a sign for you. Tell them we will darken the
moon to-morrow night."
The idea was a splendid one; indeed, the only weak spot about it was a
fear lest Good's almanack might be incorrect. If we made a false
prophecy on such a subject, our prestige would be gone for ever, and
so would Ignosi's chance of the throne of the Kukuanas.
"Suppose that the almanack is wrong," suggested Sir Henry to Good, who
was busily employed in working out something on a blank page of the
book.
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