lips? Who is he with the knife and the snake’s tongue?”

“Mowgli they call me,” was the answer.

“I am of the Jungle. The wolves are my people, and Kaa here is my brother. Father of Cobras, who art thou?”

“I am the Warden of the King’s Treasure. Kurrun Raja builded the stone above me, in the days when my skin was dark, that I might teach death to those who came to steal. Then they let down the treasure through the stone, and I heard the song of the Brahmins my masters.”

“Umm!” said Mowgli to himself. “I have dealt with one Brahmin already, in the Man-Pack, and — I know what I know. Evil comes here in a little.”