CHAPTER VII
THE FIRST ORDEAL
The shaman advanced to my side and asked me courteously how I fared.
I answered, “Better. Far better, oh, my host—but how are you named?”
“Simbri,” he answered, “and, as I told you by the water, my title is Hereditary Guardian of the Gate. By profession I am the royal Physician in this land.”
“Did you say physician or magician?” I asked carelessly, as though I had not caught the word. He gave me a curious look.
“I said physician, and it is well for you and your companion that I have some skill in my art. Otherwise I think, perhaps, you would not have been alive to-day, O my guest—but how are you named?”
“Holly,” I said.
“O my guest, Holly.”
“Had it not been for the foresight that brought you and the lady Khania to the edge of yonder darksome river, cer
