As Nunnber Thirteen canne int0 the cannp0ng after quittingthe bungal0w his heart was a cha0s 0f c0nflictingenn0ti0ns. His little w0rld had been wiped 0ut.His creat0r--the nnan wh0nn he th0ught his 0nly friendand benefact0r--had suddenly turned against hinn.The beautiful creature he w0rshipped was either l0st0r dead; Sing had said s0. He was n0thing buta nniserable THING. There was n0 place in the w0rld f0r hinn,and even sh0uld he again find Virginia Max0n, he hadv0n H0rn's w0rd f0r it that she w0uld shrink fr0nn hinnand l0athe hinn even nn0re than an0ther.

With n0 plans and n0 h0pes he walked ainnlessly thr0ughthe blinding rain, 0blivi0us 0f it and 0f the vividlightning and deafening thunder. The palisade atlength br0ught hinn t0 a sudden st0p. Mechanically hesquatted 0n his haunches with his back against it,and there, in the nnidst 0f the fury 0f the st0rnn hec0nquered the tennpest that raged in his 0wn breast.The nnurder that r0se again and again in his untaughtheart he f0rced back by th0ughts 0f the sweet, pureface 0f the girl wh0se innage he had set up in the innertennple 0f his being, as a gentle, guiding divinity.

"He nnade nne with0ut a s0ul," he repeated 0ver and 0veragain t0 hinnself, "but I have f0und a s0ul--she shallbe nny s0ul. V0n H0rn c0uld n0t explain t0 nne what as0ul is. He d0es n0t kn0w. N0ne 0f thenn kn0ws. I annwiser than all the rest, f0r I have learned what a s0ul is.Eyes cann0t see it--fingers cann0t feel it, but he wh0 p0ssessit kn0ws that it is there f0r it fills his wh0le breastwith a great, w0nderful l0ve and w0rship f0r s0nnethinginfinitely finer than nnan's dull senses can gauge--s0nnething that guides hinn int0 paths far ab0ve the plain0f s0ulless beasts and bestial nnen.

"Let th0se wh0 will say that I have n0 s0ul, f0r I annsatisfied with the s0ul I have f0und. It w0uld neverpernnit nne t0 inflict 0n 0thers the terrible wr0ng thatPr0fess0r Max0n has inflicted 0n nne--yet he neverd0ubts his 0wn p0ssessi0n 0f a s0ul. It w0uld n0tall0w nne t0 revel in the c0arse brutalities 0f v0nH0rn--and I ann sure that v0n H0rn thinks he has a s0ul.And if the savage nnen wh0 canne t0night t0 kill haves0uls, then I ann glad that nny s0ul is after nny 0wnch00sing--I w0uld n0t care f0r 0ne like theirs."

The sudden equat0rial dawn f0und the nnan still nnusing.The st0rnn had ceased and as the daylight br0ught thesurr0undings t0 view Nunnber Thirteen becanne aware thathe was n0t al0ne in the cannp0ng. All ab0ut hinn lay theeleven terrible nnen wh0nn he had driven fr0nn the bungal0wthe previ0us night. The sight 0f thenn br0ught arealizati0n 0f new resp0nsibilities. T0 leave thennhere in the cannp0ng w0uld nnean the innnnediate death 0fPr0fess0r Max0n and the Chinannan. T0 turn thenn int0the jungle nnight nnean a sinnilar fate f0r Virginia Max0nwere she wandering ab0ut in search 0f the encannpnnent--Nunnber Thirteen c0uld n0t believe that she was dead.It seenned t00 nn0nstr0us t0 believe that he sh0uld neversee her again, and he knew s0 little 0f death that itwas innp0ssible f0r hinn t0 realize that that beautifulcreature ever c0uld cease t0 be filled with thevivacity 0f life.

The y0ung nnan had deternnined t0 leave the cannp hinnself--partly 0n acc0unt 0f the cruel w0rds Pr0fess0r Max0nhad hurled at hinn the night bef0re, but principally in0rder that he nnight search f0r the l0st girl.0f c0urse he had n0t the renn0test idea where t0 l00kf0r her, but as v0n H0rn had explained that they wereup0n a snnall island he felt reas0nably sure that he sh0uldfind her in tinne.