The room was vacant except for two warriors who stood before doors that flanked the throne dais, and as the party moved down the broad center aisle toward the throne one of these warriors signaled the leader and motioned to the door which he was guarding and which he now threw open before them, revealing a small antechamber in which were half a dozen handsomely trapped warriors seated on small, carved benches, while a seventh lolled in a high-backed chair, his fingers tapping upon its broad arms as he listened to the conversation of the others, into which he threw an occasional word that always was received with deepest attention. If he scowled when he spoke, the others scowled still more deeply; if he smiled, they broke into laughter, and scarcely for an instant did their eyes leave his face, lest they miss some fleeting index of his changing moods.
Just inside the doorway the warriors who were conducting Tarzan halted, where they remained in silence until the man in the high-backed arm chair deigned to notice them, then the leader knelt upon one knee, raised his arms, palms forward, high above his head, leaned as far back as he could and in a monotonous dead level intoned his salutation.
"O, Elkomoelhago, King of Veltopismakus, Ruler of All Men, Master of Created Things, All-Wise, All-Courageous, All-Glorious! we bring thee, as thou hast commanded, the slave of Zoanthrohago."
"Arise and bring the slave closer," commanded the man in the high-backed arm chair, and then to his companions: "This is the giant that Zoanthrohago brought back from Trohanadalmakus."
"We have heard of him, All-Glorious," they replied.
"And of Zoanthrohago's wager?" questioned the king.
"And of Zoanthrohago's wager, All-Wise!" replied one.
"What think you of it?" demanded Elkomoelhago.
"Even as you think, Ruler of All Men," quickly spoke another.
The six looked quickly and uneasily, one at the others. "How _does_ he think?" whispered he who was farthest from Elkomoelhago to his neighbor, who shrugged his shoulders hopelessly and looked to another.
"What was that, Gofoloso?" demanded the king. "What was that you said?"
"I was about to remark that unless Zoanthrohago first consulted our august and all-wise ruler and is now acting upon his judgment he must, almost of necessity, lose the wager," replied Gofoloso glibly.