Page 182 (1/1)

The guests had all filed through The Hall of Chiefs; the doors at both ends had been closed Presently those at the lower end of the hall opened and O-Tar entered His black harness was ornarotesque mask of the precious h below theh which the wearer could see His croas a fillet supporting carved feathers of the saalia was that deroom by the customs of Manator, and now in accordance with that same custos and the council of the great ones of Manator who had preceded him

As the doors at the lower end of the Hall closed behind hireat dead By the dictates of ages no ht look upon the scene enacted within that sacred chahty of Manator respected the traditions of Manator, let us, too, respect those traditions of a proud and sensitive people Of what concern to us the happenings in that solemn chamber of the dead?

Five minutes passed The bride stood silently at the foot of the throne The guests spoke together in lohispers until the rooth the doors leading into The Hall of Chiefs swung open, and the resplendent bridegroo A hush fell upon the wedding guests With room approached the bride Tara felt the muscles of her heart contract with the apprehension that had been growing upon her as the coils of Fate settled n came from Turan Where was he? What, indeed, could he accomplish now to save her? Surrounded by the power of O-Tar with never a friend ae of hope

"I still live!" she whispered inwardly in a last brave atte her, but her fingers stole for reassurance to the slied to transfer, undetected, froroo her up the steps to the throne, before which they halted and stood facing the gathering below Came then, fronitary whose office it was to make these two man and wife, and directly behind hi a silken pillohich lay the golden handcuffs connected by a short length of chain-of-gold hich the cerenitary clasped a handcuff about the wrist of each sy their indissoluble union in the holy bonds of wedlock