I've been afraid to go anywhere with the idol
for fear he'd waylay me and get it. One day while I was away somewhere
he came here and told Ezela about me having the idol. From that time
on I led a life of hell. Ezela turned on me. She said I'd desecrated
the altars of her tribe, and she kept harping to me about it until I
got so I couldn't bear the sight of her.
"I discovered soon after we came here that I had been mistaken in
thinking I had loved her--what I had thought was love was merely
gratitude. My gratitude didn't last, of course, with her hounding me
continually about the idol. Finally I discovered that she and Taggart
were plotting against me. Of course, Taggart was after the image
himself. He didn't care anything about her religious scruples, but he
made her believe he sympathized with her, and made a fool of her. I
tried to kill Taggart the day I found that out, but he got away, and
after that he never traveled alone and I didn't get another chance. I
ordered Ezela away, but she said she wouldn't go until she got the
image. Many times I debated the idea of putting her out of the way,
but there was always the knowledge in my mind that she had saved my
life, and I hadn't the heart to do it.
"You know how we lived. My life was constantly in danger, and I became
hardened, suspicious, brutal.
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