 African drums are talking. A message booms through the night. Black warriors steel from their hutts and slink silently by secret paths to the hidden juju grove. One by one they take their place around the altar, shining ebony bodies, statues of silence squatting in the flickering light of the sacrificial fire. The witch doctor rises. The drum falters, changes its note, and the faster, wilder rhythm causes the circle of black bodies to sway to its urge. This is Africa. After an old woman has warned them repeatedly to beware the eyes of the moon, the professor's party makes its way through the long grass toward a village where ceremonial drums are beating. The natives are grouped around a huge fire. A beautiful girl wearing a leopard skin that hangs from her head and down her back is moving with cat-like steps in a ceremonial dance. She is the witch of the moon. Before their eyes, she is apparently changed into a leopard, and the beast charges toward the waters in the shadow. The animal bounds between them and pauses, snarling. It eyes the party one by one, but seeing Jack, the snarls turn to cat-like purrs. Lorna's voice calling for Jack to shoot angers the beast and it bounds away again, snarling. Then out of the long grass where the leopard disappears comes the beautiful girl. She speaks to the party, looks at Jack with a strange look, then leaves them to enter again the native circle. Jack seems to be in a trance. He tries to follow the girl, saying that her eyes had commanded him to do so, but Nguro holds him back. Steady, Jack. Steady. Let me go, I tell you. It was written on the moon. I saw it. Her eyes told me... Buana, moon witch evil, I look for little Buana. Let me go. Why do you wear a fear? Jack, dear, look at me. Tell this man to let me go. Don't worry, Lorna. It's a fever. It's up all sorts of imaginings. But the woman and that leopard, her eyes were exactly the same as the animals when it looked at it. Yes. Her eyes. The old woman told us to beware the eyes of the moon and they call that girl the witch of the moon. Yes. Yes, I... I told her. Her eyes. Buana. Little Buana. Our wazy. Go sleep. Jack's fainted. We'll have to get him into a hut and doctor him. The girl's beckoned into us, father. She spoke to the witch doctor, then raised her arm in this direction. Yes, she's calling us again. Can you carry Jack on, Nguro? All right, I'll lead the way. You follow behind me, Lorna. Come on. Whatever you do, don't show fear. Keep your head up high. All right, father. I'm making a path through the circle for us. Keep looking straight ahead as we go through. Oh, white man. And strangers are not welcome at this season. But my father told me of your coming and I have made preparation. Your father has eyes at sea into the future, woman. Tell me his name. He lived in the hole in the sky through which Shimba and Shamba watches the earth. And his name in your tongue is called the Moon. Then his eyes are indeed far-seeing. This man here is Milini, the witch doctor. I see you, Milini. I see you, white man. His medicines are powerful and his knowledge is great. Let him attend to this sick man. Oh, go. But I see that Milini himself is sick. His arm has a wound close to the shoulder. I have a medicine that is powerful in such cases. Let my sick man be taken to a hut where my daughter may care for him. And I will bind Milini's arm so that the stiffness will go from it. The Shema Hayo. It is well. Follow me and Milini will come to the hut for your medicine. God. Did you see that wound in the witch doctor's arm? Unless I'm very much mistaken, a rifle bullet did that not two hours ago. You think someone shot him purposely? Maybe. Probably there are some more white people around here besides us. But we'd have heard the shot if it had happened within the last two hours. Yeah, I guess we would have at that. Drums have stopped. I guess the ceremony is over. This is the hut that has been prepared for you. The next hut has been made ready for the woman according to the white man's custom. By what name are you called? I am called Ifabi, daughter of the moon. Ifabi, you have learned the customs of the white man well. Who has taught you? Am I not the daughter of the moon? And does my father not know the customs of all people of the earth? Yes, maybe so. There's an oil lamp burning in here. And I suppose your father taught you how to make that ship's lantern, eh? Well, Guru, put Jack on that bed. Take his boots off and wrap him in those blankets. Open the medicine kit, Lana. Ifabi, you will send a boy with boiling water for Malini when he is ready. Yes. White man, there is a law which you will keep while you stay in our hut. And that is? No leopard shall be killed unless it attacks. Why is that? They are our men. I go for Malini. Did you hear what she said? The leopard shall their men folk. Oh, oh, oh, it's hot in here. Oh, Jack, dear, do you feel better? Yes, I go to sleep. Gosh, I don't want these blankets. No, no, no, no, stay where you are, Jack. Here, drink this. These blankets, sir, I don't need them. I'm afraid you do, my boy. You've been out for the last half hour. Oh? What do you mean? Yes, there is something wrong. I don't recognize this place. Drink the medicine, Jack. You can think afterwards. Yes. Oh, that's vile stuff. Well, I didn't have time to call at the drugstore for flavoring my boy. You don't have to kid me, sir. I'm beginning to remember things. But which doctor? That woman who changed into a leopard. We really hear what matters. Oh, bring him in. Tell him to sit over there. The water? It is here. Shusha and Gemma, troka. I see the young white man is well again. Yes, I... I hope I didn't cause much trouble. N'Guro carried you in there. How do you feel now? Fine, just as if I'd had a good sleep. It is well for men to sleep when the moon is full grown. Lasti-fabi, steal the brain... Uri-rati-tulia! Lidini is sick from his wounds. He speaks of the ceremony. Is the white man's medicine good, Lidini? It has a devil in it that burns. This is the clean bullet holes of the flesh. Didn't touch the bone. You know, it looks uncommonly like a winchester. What man's gun did this, Lidini? The white man should know Lidini was standing in the mouth of the cave when his gun spoke. Father, you remember? The leopard. Yes, of course, but good heavens. Give me a bandage, Lana. Don't stand there looking like... No, no, no, no, no. A wider one. That's better. Good thing this wound is fairly clean. Where's N'Guro? He slipped out just now. The great black warrior is talking with his devils in the forest. He has a devil that shines when he speaks. Yeah, that's not a fiction, Lidini. They turn to Mora when the sun is three hours old. The medicine will grow weak. I will make it strong again. The white man's gun will speak at no more leopard. No, that is... They will not attack. Lidini will make Ndowa. Oh, Fobby? Yes, white man. What do the people say to our coming? They look upon you as sacred. Seeing that I, Fobby, brought you out of nowhere. Hmm. Well, that's that. Well, we've got some time to think. I'm sorry I was so abrupt just now, Lana. Although we mustn't let these happenings get into our brains. Same thing applies to you, Jack. Yes, sir, I know. Remember what I told you quite some time ago? Accept Africa, and Africa will accept you. Many men have gone mad because their ego has been turned upside down and inside out by witnessing such things inexplicable things as we've seen tonight. Yes, but, Father... I know, the whole thing is preposterous to us. Let's discuss these happenings as cold facts. You feel up to it, Jack? Yes, I feel as good as ever. All right, then. In the first place, we know that this place was prepared for us. We saw no one except leopards on the way here. Cats were everywhere. Now, what did you notice about the woman, Fobby? When she was apparently changed into a leopard. Well, she was put into that coffin-like box in which Doctor put the cover on it. Then those leopard men carried the box to the fire. Just a minute. The box was left lying there for a few minutes before they picked it up. Yes, they performed some rites around it. Good. Then they picked it up and took it to the fire and, with a long stick, shoved it into the fire. Yes. Well, go on. What did you see next? Well, a leopard screamed and jumped out of the fire. Yeah, yeah. All right. The next part is very vivid and yet decidedly muddled. The beast came straight to where we were hiding and stopped looking at it. Jack, when it started walking toward you, making that purring noise, what do you remember? What impressions did you get? Her eyes, they seemed to... Oh, it's also idiotic, sir. They were yellow and slanting, and yet they... Yet they were the eyes of a woman. Yes. Well, that's enough for the present. Come on, Lana. I will long to your hut with you. Let's get some rest. All right, Father. Good night, Jack. Good night, dear. You won't have to worry, I guess. Guru will camp on your doorstep tonight. I hope he does. I'll feel safer. Good night. Good night, dear. The moon is still bright. Somehow I... Father. Look, that leopard sitting looking at it. Those yellow eyes. It's going to spring.