"My wagon—which you call a house that travels—and the remaining three of my followers are behind," I answered. "They will doubtless be with us in the course of a few minutes. I shall outspan here, so that my oxen may rest in the shade of the gorge. Will you not direct your men to dismount and rest their zebras? We shall not resume our march for about three hours."

Pousa regarded me for a moment, a little doubtfully I thought; then as I calmly dismounted and turned Prince over to Piet to be off-saddled, the little soldier gave a few crisp orders, in a tongue of which I was ignorant, and his troopers at once dismounted, stripped their zebras of their trappings, hobbled them, and turned them loose to graze; then the men, arranging themselves in small parties, proceeded to open their ration sacks and refresh themselves with a meal consisting, as I noticed, of sun-dried meat and small cakes. Pousa very politely invited me to share his ration with him; but as I just then caught the sounds of Jan's shrieks to his oxen, and the cracking of his long whip, I as politely declined, inviting him in return to defer his meal for a time and join me at luncheon, which invitation he eagerly accepted, somewhat to my surprise, I confess, seeing that the little chap could not possibly guess what kind of food he would be offered, or whether he would like it when it was placed before him.

A few minutes later the wagon arrived and was outspanned, its appearance exciting the utmost curiosity and admiration of the Bandokolo, who, I now learned, had never before seen a wheeled vehicle, and were profoundly interested when I endeavoured to explain the principle of the wheel to them. But they were infinitely more interested and amazed when 'Mfuni, having collected a quantity of dry leaves and sticks with which to build a fire, came to me, and, receiving from me the burning-glass which I habitually carried in my pocket, calmly proceeded to kindle the fire with its aid as usual, it being our regular practice to economise our flint and steel as much as possible by never using it when a burning-glass could be made to serve the same purpose. The Bandokolo, it appeared, used fire for a number of purposes, but possessed no knowledge of how to produce it, and were therefore obliged to conserve it by keeping lamps perpetually burning; and I could readily understand that, as Pousa explained, there were occasions when, as in times of violent storm and heavy rain, they were put to the gravest inconvenience through their inability to convey a lighted lamp from one place to another.

While we were partaking of luncheon—for which, by the way, Pousa displayed great relish, after regarding the roast deer flesh for a moment or two rather dubiously—I endeavoured to pump my guest with regard to the character and disposition of Her Majesty Queen Bimbane; but I found the old fellow rather inclined to be reticent upon the subject, and uneasy when I began to question him, the reason being—as he presently informed me furtively in a whisper—that, as likely as not, the queen would be with us in spirit, listening to our conversation, and that he had no wish to offend the lady by affording information that she would perhaps prefer should be withheld. Despite his disinclination to talk, however, I contrived to extract a little information from him, learning, among other things, that I was not the first white man who had been permitted to enter the Bandokolo country, one other having arrived when Pousa was quite a young man, and died somewhat mysteriously soon afterward. I was also given to understand that the Bandokolo generally strongly objected to strangers visiting them, and were indeed in the habit of resorting to the most drastic measures for preventing such visits, or, at all events, for preventing the departure of unwelcome visitors from their country alive. As for Bimbane, what little I could induce him to say about her only went to confirm the astounding account of her that Siluce had given; and I confess that once or twice during the progress of that conversation I very seriously asked myself whether, after all, it would not be wiser on my part to turn back there and then, instead of pushing on any farther into so extraordinary a country, and placing myself in the power of so extraordinary a woman. But I do not like to be beaten, and could not bring myself to abandon my purpose ignominiously after having come so far; therefore about two o'clock in the afternoon I gave the order to inspan, and we resumed our journey.

Still closely following the course of the river across the open plain, Pousa and I rode side by side at the head of the cavalcade, with the wagon bringing up the rear; and I soon found that, apart from anything relating to Queen Bimbane, my companion was quite willing to be communicative, telling me many things of an exceedingly interesting nature with regard to his extraordinary country. I was naturally anxious to know whether gold and "shining stones" were as plentiful as I had been led to believe, and I was gratified to learn that they were, gold indeed being so abundant that it was used for every purpose where metal was needed, the Bandokolo having learned to harden and temper it in such a manner that it afforded a very fair substitute for steel, in proof of which he showed me his sword. I took the weapon in my hands, examined it, and found that it was made entirely of hardened gold, and that it had been treated in such a manner as not only to possess a certain elasticity but also to be capable of receiving a fairly sharp edge. The scales of their armour, I was told, were also treated in the same way, and were so hard that it was impossible to pierce them either with sword or spear. Then I exhibited my hunting knife, which excited Pousa's highest admiration, and also a certain amount of apprehension when, of set purpose, I casually mentioned my conviction that I could drive the blade through the best scale armour that the Bandokolo could produce. "Shining stones", also, it seemed, were fairly abundant, but they had no particular use for these excepting as adornments, the stones being admired because of the extreme brilliancy with which they reflected light and colour.

We had been trekking a little more than an hour when, suddenly, without the least warning, an enormous two-horned rhinoceros hove himself up out of the long grass about a hundred and fifty yards in front of us, and stood regarding us doubtfully, with his little eyes gleaming and his tail switching angrily. At this unexpected apparition we all drew bridle, as with one accord, to await developments, while I quickly unslung my rifle and prepared for action. I could not help noticing that Pousa viewed the creature with considerable trepidation, while as for the troopers in our rear, with one accord they wheeled their zebras, with the evident intention of making a bolt if necessary. And that it would be necessary soon became evident, for rhino, instead of being alarmed at our imposing display of force, and making himself scarce, was clearly annoyed at our presumption in daring to disturb him; and presently he lowered his head and, with loud squeals of rage, came charging straight down upon us, whereupon our escort incontinently dug their heels into the ribs of their frightened zebras and dashed off, scattering in all directions, to my intense amusement. But the wagon was not very far in our rear, and if rhino were allowed to get past us, and should choose to attack it, he might easily play havoc with my diminished team of oxen; therefore, hastily dismounting, lest Prince, despite his training, should flinch and swerve at the critical moment and so spoil my aim, I raised my rifle to my shoulder, and, waiting until the now thoroughly exasperated beast was within ten yards of me, fired and sent a bullet through his right eye into the brain, bowling him over like a rabbit. Then, quickly reloading my rifle, I quietly waited for Pousa to rejoin me, which he presently did, after re-forming his scattered command, without seeming to be in the slightest degree abashed at his desertion of me.

Approaching me with considerable circumspection, as I stood over the fallen brute, with Prince beside me, he raised his right hand and saluted, as he exclaimed:

"Truly, white lord, thou art well named Smiter with Lightning, for I beheld the flash wherewith thou didst slay this fierce and terrible beast, before whose anger not even the bravest warrior of the Bandokolo may stand! Thou art as mighty a wizard as the Deathless One, for thou canst slay without fighting, even as she can."

"It is true, Pousa, I can," answered I, willing to avail myself to the utmost of the opportunity that had been afforded me to display my power. "But," I continued, "who told thee that I was named Smiter with Lightning?"

"Who but the Wise One, even Bimbane, the queen?" retorted Pousa, in tones which seemed to suggest: "Who else do you suppose it can possibly have been?"

"Not only did she tell me how thou wert called, but she described thee to me, told me of thy huge stature and immense strength, how thou wert clothed, the wonderful weapon from which thou dost discharge thy lightnings, and even the great black beast which thou dost bestride!"

I fell into a rather uneasy reverie. Could this man be by any possibility telling the truth? The story was so astounding, so utterly incredible—and yet it was told so simply, and with such an utter lack of all straining after effect: the man made no attempt to impress me with the marvel of it all; his tone and manner were those of one who told of the most matter-of-fact, everyday occurrences. Besides, if he were not telling the truth, how could he possibly have come to know the name which had been given me by Lomalindela, the King of the Mashona?— for I was perfectly certain that he had had no opportunity to learn it from either of my own "boys."

But if this and the other things that he had told me concerning Bimbane were indeed true, she must be a most extraordinary woman, endowed with strange and wonderful powers, and it might be that I should find her rather more than I could manage before I had done with her. To admit the possibility that she might indeed possess such uncanny powers led inevitably toward several very unpleasantly suggestive reflections; but with an effort I threw them off, for I had already determined to go through with the adventure, and would not allow myself to be diverted from my purpose by the thought of any possibilities, however unpleasant. Therefore I roused myself and continued my conversation with Pousa by describing the fight between the men-monkeys and its awful conclusion, and asked him to tell me what he could about both the beasts and the trees. He could not tell me much about either, but what he did tell was grim enough; for, with regard to the monkeys, he informed me that they were well known as the most ferocious beasts to be found in Bandokolo, and that a certain number were captured by means of pitfalls, in which they were permitted to remain until they were all but dead from starvation, when they were removed to Masakisale (the capital city), and carefully tended until they were restored to a condition of normal health and strength. Then they were used to test the guilt or otherwise of persons charged with offences of exceptional enormity; the test being made by setting the accused to fight with one or more of the brutes, when, if he conquered, it was presumed that he was innocent.

I naturally enquired whether anyone had ever thus succeeded in demonstrating his innocence, and was not surprised to be answered in the negative. Then I asked why, if Bimbane really knew all things, it was necessary to subject a suspect to such a test in order to determine his guilt or innocence, to which Pousa replied that, of course, the test was quite unnecessary, for the queen could always tell whether or not a man was guilty, and to sentence a prisoner to such an ordeal was equivalent to pronouncing him guilty and ordering his execution; but the form of trial was retained since it was one of the institutions of the country which had existed from time immemorial.

As to the tree, into the foliage of which the victorious monkey had flung his antagonist, I was told that it, like the monkeys, was indigenous to Bandokolo, and that one of its most gruesome peculiarities was the ghoulish avidity with which it enveloped any unfortunate individual or animal in its tentacle-like leaves and forthwith proceeded to absorb its victim into itself. These trees, Pousa added, were sometimes employed instead of the monkeys as a means for the disposal of criminals. "A truly charming country and people," thought I, "apparently abounding in the most delightful characteristics!"

About half an hour before sunset we reached the foot of the mountains toward which we had been trekking all through the afternoon, and outspanned on the veld at the entrance to a pass which had revealed itself about an hour earlier.

The scenery in this pass, when we entered it on the following morning, proved to be very similar in character to that of the gorge through which we had passed on the previous day, before encountering Pousa and his troopers, but, if anything, even more wild, gloomy, and sombre; and I was not sorry when, about eleven o'clock, we emerged from it into a kind of basin, hemmed in on all sides by hills. Through the centre of this basin a narrow road ran, bordering a tiny rivulet which had its rise somewhere among the adjacent hills; and on either hand the ground was cultivated, maize, sugar cane, cassava, and fruit of various kinds being among its products, while the far end of the basin consisted of pasture land, upon which a herd of quite a thousand cattle were grazing. There were a few people at work in the field and orchards, pygmies, like Pousa and his band, but at sight of us they hastily retired, having been previously ordered—as I subsequently learned—to keep well out of our way and not intrude their presence upon us. There was no sign of buildings of any description, but when I questioned Pousa on the subject he drew my attention to a large number of almost invisible openings in the rocky sides of the encircling hills, which he told me were the entrances to the cave dwellings of this extraordinary people; and when I examined them through my telescope I discovered that the reason why these openings were so difficult to detect was because they were each choked with people staring intently out at us as we wound our way through the valley far below them. My telescope enabled me to discover that almost every opening, however small, was decorated with more or less carving, executed in the living rock; and beneath each I also noticed the little heap of debris which had been thrown out by the owner when he took possession of his cave and proceeded to enlarge its interior according to his wants.

We outspanned at the far end of the valley, where the pasture had been reserved, and spent the night there, having made a sort of forced march through the valley in order to reach grass for the cattle—that forced march, by the way, costing me one of my rapidly diminishing team of oxen.

On the following day we passed another of the extraordinary Bandokolo villages, and, on the day following that, two more, each being considerably larger than the preceding one, while the distance between them steadily decreased, so that on the tenth day after Pousa found us we passed through no less than five villages, the last two being within three miles of each other, and of such extent that I estimated each of them to contain at least four thousand inhabitants, if not more. And now, as every mile brought us appreciably nearer to Masakisale, the capital and the abode of the mysterious and redoubtable Queen Bimbane, it was no longer possible to keep the people at a distance, and I had abundant opportunity to study their appearance, manners, dress, and customs generally.

I feel bound to say that, taking into consideration all that I had heard about them, my first impression was distinctly favourable. For, pygmies though they were, they were as a rule perfectly formed; their colour was so light that it soon became scarcely noticeable; their expression was intelligent, and by no means unamiable, at least in the case of the women, while as for the latter, though real beauty might be rare it was certainly not entirely absent, and many of the younger ones were quite good-looking, if not actually pretty. In the matter of attire, the dress generally worn was admirably adapted to the tropical climate in which the wearers lived, that of the men consisting simply of a pair of tight-fitting drawers reaching to just above the knee, over which was worn a sleeveless shirt of thick silk, confined at the waist by a belt; while that of the women appeared to be a single garment of thick silk, generally white, but occasionally dyed, the favourite colours being a rich crimson, a sea green, and a very pale blue. But, apart from the soldiers, neither sex wore any head covering, their thick hair seeming to afford them all the protection needed from the fierce rays of the vertical sun; but both sexes wore a kind of buskin of soft leather reaching to just below the knee, the sole consisting of a shaped piece of thick hide stitched on to the under part of the buskin.

The abundance of gold in the country was amply testified by the fact that all adorned themselves more or less with ornaments, such as belts, bracelets, armlets, or necklaces, made of the metal, many of the women wearing, in addition, small plaques or bosses of hammered gold stitched to the hems of their dresses, while others wore a kind of coronet, formed of hammered or chiselled gold, in their hair. A rather sinister feature which quickly attracted my attention was that, with scarcely a solitary exception, the men went armed, each with a heavy, murderous-looking knife of hardened gold thrust into his belt. Diamonds also now came in evidence, a few of the women wearing the rough, uncut stones set in gold, as necklaces, in their belts, or as adjuncts to their coronets. And now, too, for the first time, I had an opportunity to see the kind of vehicle in general use among the Bandokolo, this consisting of a rough kind of sleigh, usually drawn by a single elephant, although I encountered, here and there, sleighs big enough to need, when fully loaded, two elephants to draw them. The horse was a hitherto unknown beast among them, and it was amusing to note the wonder and admiration which my animals excited among the people as we passed. But they had contrived completely to domesticate the zebra, which seemed to be quite common among them, although it was used exclusively as a saddle animal.

Up to the present I had been afforded no opportunity to view the interior of the rock dwellings of this extraordinary people; but as we drew ever nearer to the capital I could not help feeling impressed by the increasing elaboration of the decoration of the entrances, and the high degree of artistic taste displayed. Some of the dwellings, indeed, seemed to be wholly artificial, that is to say, the owner appeared to have chosen a particular spot on the face of the living rock, and, attacking it, had begun work by hewing out first the entrance—which was usually rectangular in shape, ornamented with columns supporting a sculptured pediment—and thence proceeding to excavate inward as many apartments as were needed for the accommodation of his family. Such a structure would, if executed by the members of the family alone, require many years of continuous labour to complete; but Pousa informed me that the usual practice was for a young man to start his house as soon as he attained the age of two hundred and thirty-four moons (eighteen years), leaving the exterior ornamentation quite rough, to be completed at his leisure, and, hewing out a central passage, to employ others to help him in excavating the interior apartments, adding to their number from time to time as the need for them arose.

About mid-afternoon on the eleventh day after Pousa and his detachment had taken charge of us, we reached the city of Masakisale, the capital of Bandokolo; and after what has already been said with regard to this remarkable people, the reader will not be surprised to learn that it was far and away the most extraordinary city that I had ever seen or heard of. It was situated in a kind of basin about eight miles wide by about twenty-two miles long, hemmed in on every side by precipitous mountains, and approached through one of the weirdest, wildest, and most forbiddingly picturesque gorges that it is possible for the mind of man to imagine. A mountain torrent foamed and raged over a rocky bed through this gorge into the basin, and finally discharged itself into a gloomy tarn, about two miles wide by three and a half miles long, which occupied the whole of the lower or northern end of the valley. A wide, straight road ran lengthwise through the valley from end to end, and was intersected, at intervals of about a mile, by cross roads, between which the whole of the valley was under cultivation, except for a patch of about five miles long adjoining the tarn, one-third of which was pasture land, while the remainder was devoted to the raising of hay, four crops of which were cut every year. A road, with which the intersecting roads communicated, ran right round the valley, at the base of the precipitous mountain slopes which formed the sides of the basin, and from it other roads zigzagged up the slopes to the very summit.

These zigzag roads gave access to the rock dwellings honeycombing the mountains, the sculptured entrances to which were clearly discernible through the variegated colours that splashed the slopes, these variegated colours being due to the fact that the mountain slopes had been terraced from base to summit, filled with earth where required, and converted into gardens and fruit orchards.

The industrial portion of the city was situated at the northern end of the valley, the prevailing wind here being from the south; thus the smoke of the factory furnaces was carried away out of the valley at its northern end, which obviated all nuisance. The population of Masakisale numbered fully twenty thousand, according to Pousa; and I afterward had reason to believe that he was very far within the mark, for I roughly estimated that there must be nearly that number of dwellings in the valley, and they would accommodate, on an average, at least four persons each. There appeared to be nearly or quite five thousand people at work in the fields when we entered the valley, assisted by some forty or fifty elephants, which seemed to be employed here and there in ploughing up the land and preparing it for a new crop. There was also a considerable amount of traffic, pedestrian and vehicular, on the various roads; and when the news of our arrival spread through the valley—which it appeared to do with marvellous celerity—this traffic increased a hundredfold at least, so that within an hour of our arrival it seemed as though every man, woman, and child in the valley had turned out to stare at us. And I confess that I was by no means favourably impressed with the manner in which the men at least of Masakisale regarded my appearance among them, for if I correctly interpreted the expression of their countenances it was made up, in about equal proportions, of hatred and fear; while that of the women, on the other hand, seemed chiefly to indicate wonder, probably at my stature, for, compared with their fifty-four inches, my seventy-four must have appeared gigantic.

There was no difficulty at all in identifying the royal palace; for whereas most of the other dwellings in the valley were indicated merely by a more or less elaborately sculptured doorway hewn out of the living rock, the abode of Queen Bimbane measured—judging by the eye alone—at least five hundred feet long by sixty feet high, the whole surface of which was sculptured into the form of a house front, consisting of a doorway with window openings on either side of it, and, above that, two other tiers of window openings giving upon wide projecting balconies, the whole very elaborately decorated with mouldings, balusters, architraves, pediments, columns, entablatures, and other architectural features, in a style quite strange to me, yet very handsome and impressive, and representing, I should say, the life's work of several hundred masons. Moreover, there was a banner flying over the centre of the building, consisting of a replica, upon a very much larger scale, of that borne by the standard-bearer who accompanied my escort.

This remarkable building—if indeed it may so be called—was situated about three miles down the valley, on its western side and consequently facing east, so that for the greater part of the day it was in shadow, while every one of its window openings was shaded from the morning sun by awnings of some material (which I afterward found was silk) arranged in alternate stripes of green and white. I sighted and identified it at a distance of more than a mile away; and when we arrived opposite it I found that, as of course might be expected, one of the intersecting roads crossing the main road led up to it. But there was this difference between that particular road and all the others, that whereas the others had cultivated fields on either side of them, this road was bordered on either hand by beautiful smooth grassy lawns, kept cut quite close, interspersed at frequent intervals with great, fancifully shaped beds of flowers, while here and there enormous shade trees had been left, beneath which quite a large number of handsomely attired men and women were lounging. These were, of course, the palace gardens; and when I enquired, Pousa informed me that the loungers belonged to the queen's retinue, the general public being rigorously excluded from them. Upon our arrival at the point where the road leading to the palace branched off from the main road, Pousa informed me that I must now bid a temporary adieu to the wagon and my followers, these being destined to the lower end of the valley, where the pasture was situated, while, by command of the queen, I was to be lodged in the palace; therefore if I would indicate such of my personal belongings as I wished to have taken to my new quarters, he would see that they were duly conveyed thither. I rather demurred at this, not caring to be separated from Piet and 'Mfuni; but upon learning that the arrangement had been ordered by the queen, and could not now be altered, I yielded, with the best grace I could muster, and gave instructions that all my spare guns and a plentiful supply of ammunition should be conveyed to my destined quarters with the utmost circumspection, and there deposited.



CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

THE PLOT THICKENS.

Separated from the wagon, and thus under no further obligation to regulate our pace by that of the slow-moving oxen, we now, at Pousa's command, advanced at a trot along the road leading directly to the palace; and as we rapidly approached that structure I became increasingly impressed by the remarkable grace and beauty of its architectural decorations, the exquisite details of which forced themselves more insistently upon my attention with every foot of our progress. For instance, I saw now that certain irregularities in the surface of the walls and the shafts of the columns, which in the distance I had taken as due to the effect of weather, were really a vast number of small pictures, sculptured in very low relief, representing scenes in the history of Bandokolo, many of those scenes being, naturally, battles. And although the figures were conventionally drawn, the vigour of action and the truth to nature of the attitudes portrayed evidenced the work of an artist of no mean power.

But I had no opportunity just then to study the sculptures at leisure, for Pousa was evidently very anxious to complete his responsible task of delivering me safely within the precincts of the palace. I was therefore obliged to content myself with a hasty glance at the facade as a whole, while dismounting and resigning my horse to the care of a groom who awaited my arrival at the foot of the broad flight of steps leading up to the main entrance. Then, accompanied by Pousa, who also had dismounted, I ascended the steps, fifty in number, and was ushered through a wide and lofty doorway provided with a pair of heavy swing doors of massive gold, the panels of which were decorated with figures in high relief, into a cool and lofty hall, where I was received by and formally turned over to an official whom I afterward learned was the major-domo, or master of the queen's household. This individual very cordially welcomed me to Masakisale, in the name of the queen, and, bidding me and the attendants bearing my belongings to follow him, led the way to the rear of the hall, which, as soon as my eyes grew accustomed to the somewhat subdued light, I saw was about fifty feet long by fifty feet high by twenty-five feet wide, with a broad balcony, supported by columns, running all round it at a height of some thirty feet from the pavement.

At the far end of the hall was a massive flight of steps, hewn out of the solid rock wall, leading up to the interior balcony, to which we climbed; and, arrived there, I was conducted to a suite of two rooms, which I was given to understand had been assigned for my use by the queen. The larger room of the two was a front room looking out upon the palace gardens, and was evidently intended for day use; while the one behind, which had no window and derived its light from the front room and from a handsome gold lamp suspended from the ceiling, was a combined bathroom and sleeping chamber. This latter room, the stone floor of which was covered with fine matting, contained a very beautiful and spacious ivory couch, most luxuriously furnished, a number of elegant and equally luxurious divans, and an immense bath, almost big enough to swim in, sunk into the floor. The official who had me in charge pointed out these various matters to me, as well as a very handsome suit of clothing, evidently made expressly for me, which, he intimated, it was the queen's wish I should wear during my stay in the country; told me that by clapping my hands I could summon a servant who had been detailed to attend upon me; and then bowed himself out.

Left at length to myself, I instructed the people who had brought my belongings where to put them, satisfied myself that nothing was missing, and then, dismissing the men, proceeded to take stock of my surroundings. The apartments assigned to me were very spacious, lofty, cool, and airy, and were furnished with a degree of elegance and luxury that was simply astounding, especially in view of the fact that I was in a part of Africa which, so far as I knew, but one white man had ever visited before, and from which no white man had ever emerged; and I felt that I was fully justified in regarding myself as very highly honoured. Then, when I had completed my inspection, I clapped my hands, and, upon the appearance of the attendant, intimated that I should like a bath; whereupon the man withdrew a wooden plug from a hole in the wall, and in a few minutes the immense bath was full to the brim of bright, cold, sparkling spring water, into which I at once plunged, completely submerging myself for about half a minute, to the amazement and consternation of my attendant, who afterward confessed that he feared I was bent upon drowning myself, none of the Bandokolo, it appeared, possessing the slightest knowledge of natation. My use of soap, too, and the facility with which by its aid I was enabled to remove the dust and grime accumulated during the day's travel, was another revelation to him; as was also the comb wherewith I arranged my now much too luxuriant locks. My bath towels likewise came in for a share of his admiration; but the thing which, next to my stature, most excited the fellow's astonishment was the whiteness of my skin, where it had been protected by my clothing, compared with the deep bronze of my face and hands. Having bathed to my satisfaction I proceeded to clothe myself in the new garments which had been so thoughtfully provided for me—and for which I was indeed grateful, for the best of my own clothes were by this time little better than rags. These new garments consisted of a pair of bathing drawers—at least that is what they were like, for they only reached down to just above the knees—a tunic-like, sleeveless shirt, and a pair of buskins made of soft white leather, soled with ox-hide. The drawers were made quite plain, of thick white silk, and fitted fairly tight to the body; the shirt also was made of the same material, but about the armholes and the hem of it there was stitched a broad band of crimson silk, sewn in a beautiful pattern with gold thread and thickly studded with small gold bosses about the size of ordinary coat buttons, each boss being beautifully chiselled with a flower-like pattern in high relief. There was also a waist belt, made of solid gold links fastened together with a sort of hinge, and clasped in front with a pair of massive gold sculptured plaques, forming a very handsome adornment to one's person, and very convenient, too, for it happened to be of just the right width to take my pistol holsters. These garments all fitted me as though made to measure, to my great astonishment; and when I asked Langila—that being the name of my new servant—how he accounted for such an extraordinary fact, he further amazed me by saying, as calmly as though it were the most natural thing imaginable, that the articles had all been made according to measurements supplied by the queen! And when I pushed my curiosity farther by asking how Her Majesty could possibly guess so accurately at the proportions of a man whom she had never seen, he simply shrugged his shoulders and repeated Pousa's astounding statement that "the queen knows all things!" After which I requested that I might be left to myself; for I wished to give this statement my most careful consideration, and to endeavour to fathom all that it might possibly mean to me.

Was it possible that this extraordinary woman, reputed to be old far beyond the limits of the age usually ascribed to humanity—this queen of a wonderful people hidden away in the mysterious depths of Africa, the continent of strange and mystic happenings, was really the possessor of the gift of unlimited knowledge? To me, a plain, simple, matter-of-fact Briton, such a thing seemed impossible; yet Pousa had already supplied me with proof that surely ought to have been convincing to any reasonable man. He had been told that on a certain date and at a certain spot he would encounter me, and he had done so; my appearance had been described to him, and the description had proved accurate in every particular, down to the most minute detail; and he had even learned the facts connected with the death of the unhappy Siluce! How had the queen, his informant, become acquainted with all these matters, seeing that even the fact of my impending visit to Bandokolo could not possibly have been made known through any of the ordinary recognised channels of communication? It was an exceedingly disquieting circumstance; for if Bimbane actually possessed this astounding, supernatural gift of knowledge it practically rendered her all-powerful, and how could any ordinary individual—myself, for instance— successfully contend with such a being—if contention should ever become necessary? I decided that contention, strife, between her and myself must not be permitted to become necessary: I must cultivate her goodwill and gain her friendship if I could, then all might be well; whereas if I should be so unfortunate as to incur her displeasure—well, there was no use in blinking the fact that she was powerful enough to destroy me.

I had just about arrived at the above conclusion when Langila appeared and respectfully enquired when it would be my pleasure to eat, which reminded me that several hours had elapsed since I had last partaken of a meal, and that, despite the disquieting nature of my recent reflections, I was hungry. I therefore intimated that I was quite ready for a meal at any moment, whereupon he disappeared, to return a few minutes later accompanied by half a dozen servants, who quickly and deftly prepared a table by covering it with a very handsome cloth of spotless white linen, upon which they placed a number of elegantly wrought dishes of polished agate, heaped high with fruits of various kinds arranged with their respective leaves, a most beautiful vase of some wonderfully marked and highly polished stone, full of wine, and several elaborately chased plates and dishes of massive gold, one of which contained a little pile of thin, flat cakes of a kind of bread, smoking hot. Then another man entered, bearing a gold dish containing what looked like a roast fowl, but what I presently discovered was a parrot; and Langila intimated that my dinner was served. And a very excellent dinner it proved to be; for the parrot was tender, juicy, of very appetising flavour, and perfectly cooked, while the little cakes of hot bread were particularly good. Then the wine! It was of a rich ruby colour and exquisite aroma, but light and innocuous as water. As for the fruits, I had never before—and have never since—tasted such luscious peaches and grapes. And all this elegance and luxury, I kept reminding myself, existed in a part of Africa utterly unknown to the white man!

Whether it was the novelty of my surroundings, the somewhat perturbing character of my reflections, or the contrast between the luxuriousness of my couch and the hard cartel upon which I had reposed for so many months under a stifling wagon tent, I know not, but sleep was slow to come to me on that first night of my sojourn in the palace of Queen Bimbane; and when at length it visited me it seemed that I had scarcely closed my eyes before I opened them again to find that it was day, and that Langila was standing beside my couch, respectfully enquiring whether it would please me to bathe before dressing for breakfast. I replied that it certainly would, whereupon the fellow filled my bath for me, and a few minutes later I was luxuriously wallowing in the cold, crystal-clear water. To towel myself dry and dress was the work of but a minute or two, and then I sat down to a meal which in point of elegance and luxury was the equal of that partaken of on the previous evening.

When I had finished, Langila, who was really a most admirable servant, respectfully enquired what I next proposed to do; and when I informed him that I intended to ride to the lower end of the valley, to see how my servants were faring, and that the wagon and oxen were being properly looked after, he assured me that I might rest perfectly easy as to that, but that if I were determined upon doing as I proposed it was the wish of the queen that I should appear in public suitably arrayed. Thereupon he vanished, and presently returned bearing a superb doublet of gold scale armour upon a foundation of doeskin as soft as a kid glove, a broad belt of massive gold links heavily studded with uncut diamonds, supporting a gold-bladed sword in a richly chased golden sheath, and a gold helmet, wadded and lined with silk and surmounted by a splendid plume of ostrich feathers dyed a deep, rich crimson! And, thus magnificently bedizened, I presently set forth, mounted upon Prince, who, in his turn, had not been forgotten, he also proving to be a beneficiary to the extent of a superb crimson silk, gold-fringed saddle cloth, and a new bridle of a kind of velvet, dyed crimson, and heavily studded with gold bosses.

The ride to the lower end of the valley and back proved exceedingly interesting, for there was novelty everywhere; and I noticed that my gorgeous trappings seemed to produce a profound effect upon the people, who now saluted me with the utmost reverence, the fact being—although I did not know it at the time—that I was dressed in the uniform of a general of the Bandokolo army. I found the wagon all right, and the remnant of my team of oxen luxuriating in the rich pasture by the margin of the lake; while as for Piet, Jan, and 'Ngulubi, they had plenty to eat and no work to do, and were therefore perfectly happy. But 'Mfuni, who had developed a most extraordinary devotion to me, gloomily informed me that the country and the people were "'mkulu 'mtagati", and that he did not at all approve of my being housed in the palace, surrounded by strangers, and with him miles away and quite unable to watch over my welfare. Upon hearing which, I comforted the poor fellow as well as I could by assuring him that I was not in the slightest danger, that the arrangement was merely temporary, and that at the first opportunity I would endeavour to persuade the queen to allow him to come to the palace as my personal attendant.

Upon my return to the palace I was informed by Langila that the queen was in her apartment, and had given instructions that, upon my return, I was to be conducted into her presence, that she might personally express her satisfaction at my arrival in the country; therefore I at once proceeded to bathe, and, when I was ready, desired Langila to announce me. I had not far to go, for the royal apartments were situated, it appeared, in the wing of the palace opposite to my own, just on the other side of the grand staircase; and in a few minutes I found myself in the royal presence.

The room in which Queen Bimbane received me was a superb apartment, magnificently decorated with elaborately carved columns supporting a kind of groined roof, the walls being draped with splendid tapestry worked on silk in gold thread, and hung with several enormous mirrors of polished silver in massive gold frames—brackets supporting clusters of lamps on either side of each. The stone floor was covered with fine grass matting worked in a very tasteful pattern with different-coloured grasses; and at the far end of the room was a divan that looked as though made of solid gold, upholstered in embroidered silk. Upon this divan reclined a diminutive figure entirely shrouded in white silk draperies, so that only the two eyes could be seen through a narrow slit; and behind this figure stood two handsome young women, gorgeously attired, who perpetually waved two enormous fans of ostrich feathers to and fro over their mistress.

The lord chamberlain, who took me over from the hands of Langila, duly announced me and forthwith retired; and I noticed that as I strode through the doorway, attired in all my bravery, the little figure on the divan started and gave utterance to a faint ejaculation. But she instantly recovered herself, and, stretching out her right hand, swathed in silken wrappings, exclaimed in a low, pleasant voice:

"Greeting, and many welcomes, Chia'gnosi! I have been anticipating this moment with much curiosity, and also with a little trepidation, for my prescience tells me that you are destined to exercise a great, indeed a vital, influence upon my future; and I have wondered whether that influence will be for good, or for evil."

"For good, I trust, Your Majesty," I replied, as, sinking on one knee, I placed my right hand beneath hers and raised it respectfully to my lips. As I have said, that hand was swathed in silken wrappings, so that I could not see it, but my sense of touch told me that it was small and, as it seemed to me, painfully thin. But although I did not see the hand I saw something else, and that was the orange and ruddy flashes of a jewel on the thumb, the brilliance of which was so great that it made itself manifest even through the silken veil in which it was enveloped; and I immediately remembered the "potent amulet", containing a stone "which shines like the sun at eventide", mentioned by Siluce, which she had besought me to take from its owner.

"I, too, trust that it will be for good, Chia'gnosi, otherwise you would never have been allowed to come here," answered the queen. "My prescience—which has never yet deceived me—tells me that in you I shall find a man who can be either a true, loyal, steadfast friend, or an implacable enemy; and as I am determined to make you my friend, I am not afraid. Yet I see that, in the depths of your heart, you are already prejudiced against me; and since that prejudice must be removed before friendship can be born, tell me, I pray you, how did that prejudice originate? But first, rise, and sit beside me, here."

I rose and obeyed, in some confusion; for how, I asked myself, could this woman possibly read my inmost thoughts, as she appeared able to do? Nevertheless, it seemed to me that honesty was the best policy, therefore I answered her, after seating myself at as respectful a distance from her as the divan would allow:

"If I am indeed prejudiced at all against Your Majesty, it is because of the story that Siluce told me."

"Ah, yes, Siluce!" retorted the queen rather bitterly. "She died in your arms. And, before dying, she no doubt told you that the Bandokolo are a cruel, wicked people; and that I, their queen, am the most cruel and wicked of them all. Did she not?"

"I am told that you know all things," I returned. "If that be true, you must be fully aware of every word which that unhappy young woman said."

"Ye-e-es," answered Bimbane slowly, "I ought to know, certainly; but it happens that I do not. For at the moment when you encountered Siluce, it chanced that my attention was distracted from you for a time; and when at length I was again free to visualise you, the woman was lying dead in your arms, and so I missed hearing what she told you. But I can guess; and I have guessed aright, have I not?"

"Pretty nearly," I replied. And then I repeated what Siluce had said as to the treatment which she had received, and the causes for that treatment; and I ventured to hint that, according to the views of civilised people, the unhappy girl had been atrociously misused.

"So that was the story Siluce told you?" remarked the queen, when I had finished. "Now listen to mine, and judge between us.

"I am not a young woman; I am indeed old, as you have already guessed: yet when the time of mourning for my late consort was past, many chiefs and nobles urged me to wed again, and offered themselves as suitable candidates for the position of spouse to the queen. I knew that these proposals were made only because of the power, influence, and wealth which belong to the position; yet, because I am a woman, with all a woman's weaknesses, and the Bandokolo are a fickle, turbulent people, impatient of restraint and difficult to govern, it seemed desirable that I should choose another consort from among the many suitors for the honour. And after careful consideration I chose Anuti, one of the captains of my guard, because he seemed the most suitable for the position, and the man most likely to be helpful to me in my difficult task of government.

"But Siluce, who was one of the women of my household, had already seen Anuti, and desired him as her husband, although the man would have naught to do with her. And when the forthcoming espousals of Anuti and myself were announced, Siluce forced her way into my presence, upbraided me for robbing her of her lover, and sought to slay me! Therefore I dismissed her from my household, and forbade her ever to appear again in my presence; but it was Anuti who caused her to be whipped, and afterwards ordered her banishment. And because, after our espousals, I learned this, and rebuked Anuti for his cruelty, he has quarrelled with me and become my enemy."

"U-um!" I returned. "That, of course, is a very different story from the one told me by Siluce."

"And it is the truth," asserted the queen; "although doubtless there are those who will declare to the contrary. I possess much knowledge, Chia'gnosi, yet I know not how I am to convince you of the truth; for he, my husband, who could verify my words, resents my rebuke and has become my most bitter and implacable enemy, and doubtless he will seek to win you over to his side by bearing false witness against me. I would that I could make you my friend, Chia'gnosi, for never have I so sorely needed a friend as now, when Anuti has turned against me and seeks to oust me from my place and become supreme in the land. And you are wise with the wisdom of the white man; you are a warrior, and come of the race of those who always conquer: therefore if I could win you to my side I should certainly triumph in the struggle that I foresee is at hand. Tell me, Chia'gnosi, how may I win you to become my champion?"

"Nay, O Queen," answered I, "ask me not, I pray you; for I came here not to take part in any quarrel, but merely to—"

"Yes, I know," interrupted the queen. "You came hither hoping to obtain much gold and many shining stones. Well, whether or not you will become my friend, I can at least help you to realise your wish. You shall have as much gold and as many shining stones as you can carry away. I have many stones already, and I will give orders that more shall be obtained, so that you may have as many as you desire; while as for gold, all that I possess is yours for the asking."

What could I say by way of reply to such lavish generosity as this? I could but thank the queen with all my heart, and did so, yet with a lurking dread that she might attach to the acceptance of her gift some condition which I certainly could not assent to without a great deal more knowledge than I then possessed. But she did not: on the contrary, she led me to understand that her gift was quite unconditional; and we then proceeded to talk of other matters, with the result that when at length I was dismissed, I left the royal presence strongly impressed with the conviction that my hostess was a very much misunderstood and maligned woman, earnestly desirous of governing an unruly people wisely and well, in the face of strenuous opposition on the part of a clique of ambitious and unscrupulous nobles, of whom the most ambitious and unscrupulous was Anuti, her husband, who, it seemed pretty evident, aimed at nothing short of her dethronement and death, and the usurpation of supreme power. I confess I felt very sorry for the poor old creature; and although I was particularly careful to pledge myself to nothing, I was conscious of a very strong inclination to espouse her cause and do what I might to defeat the machinations of her powerful enemies. She readily assented to my petition that 'Mfuni, my Mashona, might be permitted to come to the palace, to act as groom to Prince, that animal having manifested a distinct distaste for the attentions of the Bandokolo stableman; and the man presented himself that same afternoon, in response to a message which I sent, commanding his immediate appearance.

For nearly a week after this nothing of any particular import happened. Upon one pretext or another the queen sent for me every day, sometimes more than once, to converse with her; and by the end of the fifth day after my arrival I had practically forgotten Siluce's charges against her, forgotten that she was an old woman—although on the occasion of our third interview she had permitted me to see her small, withered, wrinkled old face—forgotten everything, in fact, except that I had come to the conclusion that she was the most charming, delightful, and interesting, as well as the most friendless and vilely betrayed woman I had ever heard of. She had kept her word right royally in the matter of the diamonds, having sent me a goatskin sack full of the most magnificent stones, while I was led to understand that more were being diligently sought for; and as for gold, there was already enough of it in my apartment to tax the strength of my diminished team of oxen to the utmost to draw it when it should be loaded into the wagon.

On the sixth day after my arrival in Masakisale I encountered Anuti, the queen's husband, while riding from the palace to the wagon, as was my daily wont. He joined me when I was about halfway down the valley, riding out from one of the side roads, which, it appeared, led to the house that he was then inhabiting, he having deserted the palace immediately after his quarrel with the queen. He approached and accosted me, introducing himself quite frankly; and upon learning that I was on my way to the lower end of the valley, asked permission to accompany me, which I accorded rather ungraciously, I am afraid, for I was by that time very bitterly prejudiced against him. Yet, as we rode, conversing together, I found it hard to maintain that prejudice, for he was as unlike the man I had pictured him as it was possible for a man to be; indeed, I was amazed at the frankness, geniality, and courteousness of his manner. He professed to be rejoiced at the opportunity that I was affording him to make my acquaintance, for which he thanked me; very delicately hinted his admiration of my prowess in killing the rhinoceros which had attacked the escort; and expressed an earnest desire that, despite the suspicion and dislike with which I at that moment regarded him, the time was not far-distant when we should be stanch friends. He added that there were several of Bandokolo's most influential nobles and chiefs who were anxious to be made known to me; and when I received this intimation with a return to my original frigidity of manner he turned to me and exclaimed, with an almost startling earnestness of manner:

"Ah, Chia'gnosi, I would that you could be persuaded to lay aside your prejudices, and treat me and my friends fairly! Our conception of you has been that of a man who loves justice and fairness above all things, else would you never have been permitted to come hither. I know that you have been a sojourner in the palace for the last five days, and that you have been daily—ay, almost hourly—brought under the influence of the queen, consequently I fully understand your antagonism to me. She has told you her story, and has cunningly played upon your sympathy and the chivalry of your character, leading you to believe that she is the most unfortunate, most maligned and persecuted woman in the whole world. But that is only her version of the story; and I swear to you that it is false! I know the story which the lips of the dying Siluce whispered into your ears, for my spirit was with you both then, and I say that every word of it is true, although I know that Bimbane has asserted the contrary. Think of this, therefore, Chia'gnosi, and ask yourself whether you may not have been led by a cunning, unscrupulous, and lying old witch to give your sympathy to the wrong person. If you are capable of being convinced by the truth—as I believe you are—I can convince you. But you must give me the opportunity; and if you will but do this, I tell you that you will thank me for asking you to hear what I have to say."

To say that I was amazed and shocked beyond all power of expression at the possibility that I had been hoodwinked and played with by a preternaturally plausible old woman is to put the matter very mildly; yet slowly the conviction dawned upon me that it might be so. I suddenly remembered my own youth and inexperience, and the tales that had been told me of Bimbane's unnatural longevity; and gradually I came to realise how easy a woman of her prolonged and wide experience would find it to play upon my sympathy and credulity until she had brought me to a state of mind in which I should be prepared to believe whatever she might choose to tell me. She had indeed almost brought me to that state of mind, but not quite; I still retained sense enough to recognise that my judgment was not infallible, my wisdom not so great but that it might be possible for an exceedingly clever person to deceive me. And then it suddenly occurred to me that Bimbane's version of the Siluce incident was entirely unsupported save by her own assertions, while the statement of Siluce herself—made with her dying breath, when, it might be assumed, she could have no possible motive for telling a falsehood—was fully confirmed by Anuti. Yes; the two stories differed so completely that one of them must necessarily be untrue, and I felt that I owed it to myself to discover which of them it was. It was all very well for me to pretend that I would not permit myself to be involved in a quarrel with which I had no concern, but I began to realise that possibly I might not be allowed any option in the matter, and that in spite of myself I might be compelled to take one side or the other; and if that should prove to be the case I must see to it that I was not inveigled into espousing the wrong side. Therefore, when I had reasoned the matter out in my own mind, somewhat after the above fashion, I turned to Anuti, and, giving him my hand, said:

"You are right, Anuti; you are entitled to demand that I shall afford you the opportunity to set forth your version of the dispute between the queen and yourself, and to bring forward proofs of the soundness and justice of your own contention, and you shall have it. Therefore, make such arrangements as you may deem necessary; and when you are ready I shall be prepared to listen to you. But, understand this: your proofs will have to be very full and complete to be wholly convincing, for, rightly or wrongly, I have been very strongly impressed with the conviction that the queen is the victim of a powerful band of thoroughly ruthless, unscrupulous conspirators."

Anuti laughed heartily as he grasped my extended hand. "There was no need for you to tell me that, Chia'gnosi," he said, "for I know Bimbane, and am fully aware of her extraordinary powers of persuasion. Her magic is potent and wonderful, ay, even to the extent of enabling her to persuade you that this blaze of sunlight is the darkness of the great cavern whence we obtain our shining stones, that yonder sun is the day-old moon, or that she herself is young and beautiful. Therefore I am in nowise astonished that you insist upon my proofs being complete. I am fully aware that they will have to be so in order to convince you; and I promise you that they shall be. And now, a word of warning. It may be that Bimbane is cognisant of what has passed between us, for I doubt not that she watches your every movement; and, if so, she will be fully aware, not only that we have met, but of every word that we have spoken. In that case, Chia'gnosi, you will be in some danger; and if I thought that you feared danger I would express my regret for having brought you within touch of it. But I know that you do not; therefore I will merely say to you, be on the watch, for when the peril comes it will come swiftly, without warning, and you will need all your courage and all your great strength to meet it. Farewell, Chia'gnosi, and thanks for the courtesy and fairness with which you have hearkened to me. I will collect my facts and my witnesses; and when all is ready you shall hear from me. Again, farewell!"



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

AT LAST I LEARN THE TRUTH.

Profoundly perplexed, and quite unable to decide which of these two, Bimbane or Anuti, was telling me the truth, I rode slowly and thoughtfully back to the palace, and, surrendering Prince to the care of 'Mfuni, sought the privacy of my own apartments, anxious to think over quietly and free from all distraction what I had heard, in the hope of being able to arrive at some definite conclusion with regard to the matter. Also, I was anxious to learn whether there was any foundation for Anuti's suggestion that Bimbane was probably aware of his meeting with me, and of what had passed between us, believing that if such were indeed the case the queen would assuredly betray her knowledge either by her speech or in her manner. But although I had scarcely been back long enough to bathe and change into the garments which I usually wore indoors when I was invited to join the queen in her apartments, I could detect nothing in either her manner of greeting me or in her subsequent speech to indicate that she had the least suspicion that I had spent nearly two hours in her husband's company. There was not the slightest shade of difference in her cordiality of manner toward me, not the faintest suggestion of uneasiness or anxiety; and as for her conversation, after informing me that she had received information from the mine to the effect that a large consignment of the shining stones might be expected shortly, she proceeded to question me with regard to the details of my past life—of which she appeared to possess a quite extraordinary general knowledge—and finally referred, in a perfectly natural manner, to little Nell Lestrange, asking whether I still adhered to my original intention of endeavouring to find the child. And upon my assuring her that I certainly did, she asserted that she possessed the power to help me very materially in my search, and was perfectly willing to afford me that help, if I cared to avail myself of it; to which I replied that I would gladly do so, and would feel infinitely obliged and grateful for it. Whereupon she offered to show me, there and then, the road which I must follow, upon leaving Masakisale, in order to reach the place where the lost child might be found.

To one who thought somewhat slowly, as I generally do, this seemed to be rather rushing matters, and, with Anuti's warning fresh in my mind, I hesitated for just the fraction of a second, wondering whether perchance this might not be some subtle scheme on Bimbane's part to get me into her power; but the friendly, ingenuous look in her eyes, as I glanced into them, disarmed my momentary suspicion, and a few seconds later, animated by the intensity of my desire to learn what I might regarding poor Nell's whereabouts, I found myself stretched at full length upon the divan, with the little, shrivelled, decrepit figure of the queen bending over me as, in obedience to her command, I stared intently at the jewel on her right thumb, which she held within a few inches of my eyes.

For perhaps a minute I gazed at the wonderful flashing and changing colours of the stone, which seemed to be something between a diamond and an opal; and then, suddenly, I seemed to be mounted on Prince and journeying back along the road by which we had reached Masakisale, with Piet and 'Mfuni beside me and the wagon in the rear. We seemed to be passing the spot where I had buried the remains of the unhappy Siluce, and in my dream we turned aside to examine the grave, and assured ourselves that it had not been disturbed. Back, mile after mile, we travelled until we reached a certain mountain that I remembered perfectly well, and here we abandoned the route by which we had formerly travelled, striking eastward round the southern side of the mountain, and following for several days a stream that led south-eastward. Then, abandoning that stream, and still journeying south-eastward, we "struck" another stream that finally led us to a broad river which I somehow knew to be the Zambezi. Along the left bank of this great river we seemed to journey for several days, carefully noting the natural features of the country as we went, and especially some very fine falls—which were not, however, the famous Victoria Falls, discovered by Livingstone—and shortly afterward we reached a drift which enabled us to cross the river; and here we turned our backs upon it and followed upstream a smaller river discharging into it. And thus we seemed to go, day after day and week after week, until two months were past, when suddenly, toward the close of a certain day, I seemed to find myself in the midst of surroundings that I dimly remembered having seen before; and presently it dawned upon me that I was looking upon the plain which Mafuta, the Basuto nyanga, had shown me in the vision wherein I had been permitted a brief glimpse of Nell Lestrange. Yes, that was the place, without a doubt; and as I stood gazing in wonder at it a Kafir at my side, who had come from I know not where, informed me, in reply to a question, that the place was named Umgungundhlovu, and that it was the Great Place of Dingaan, the king of the Zulu nation. And therewith, as the man's words fixed themselves in my memory, the vision faded; and, opening my eyes, I found myself staring into those of Bimbane, who was still bending over me.

"Well, Chia'gnosi," said she, with a smile that, even on her withered features, I somehow thought very sweet and engaging, "you have slept long. Have you seen aught?"

"Yes," said I, rising to my feet. "I have seen the way from this place to the spot where my friend's little daughter may be found; and I thank you most heartily for granting me the vision. It is very wonderful, and I wish that I possessed the power to gain such information by means of self-induced dreams. I suppose the power lies in that ring, does it not?"

"Nay," answered Bimbane, quickly placing her right hand behind her, "the power is in myself; the ring is but a means, and any bright thing would do as well." (And then I suddenly remembered the bright disk by means of which Mafuta, the Basuto nyanga, had produced the vision that I had witnessed in his hut.)

"And wish not for any such power, my friend," continued the queen, seating herself upon the divan from which I had risen; "for while the information so gained is sometimes useful, it is more often of a distressing nature, and many times have I thus learned that those whom I deemed my stanch friends were really secret enemies, industriously plotting evil against me. One is far happier without such knowledge, therefore I make use of my gift as seldom as possible. And now, go, Chia'gnosi, for the exercise of my power has rendered me very weary, and I must rest. But come to me again to-morrow; for although my magic has enabled me to learn much of what happens in the world outside Bandokolo, there are many things which I have never been able to understand until now, when you have explained them to me, and I wish to learn all I can while you are here to teach me."

I retreated to my own apartments more puzzled than ever as to the true character of the queen; for while I could not help feeling that Anuti was perfectly sincere in his denunciation of her, the more I saw of her the more convinced did I become that there was some frightful misunderstanding somewhere, and that she was in reality a true, tender-hearted, generously disposed woman. Finally, I called for Prince, and took a long ride up the valley, seeking for light; but none came, and when about sunset I returned to the palace, I was as much befogged as ever.

When on the following day I was again summoned to the queen's apartments, I found her full of schemes for the better government of the Bandokolo and the improvement in general of the condition of the people; and upon these schemes she expressed herself anxious to have my opinion, as well as any suggestions which I might see fit to offer. Now, I felt that I was altogether top young to set myself up as an authority upon so abstruse a subject as statesmanship; yet I was not quite destitute of ideas, or the inclination to express them when they happened to be strong and well-defined, consequently it was not long before we were so deeply engrossed in conversation as to be practically oblivious of everything else. Hence I was greatly astonished, not to say chagrined, when after about an hour's animated and exceedingly interesting conversation I suddenly became conscious that I had been asleep—for a second or two only, it seemed to me, for when wakefulness returned the queen was still speaking, and I gathered from her speech that I could not have missed more than, at the most, half a dozen unimportant words. I was profoundly annoyed with myself, for if there is one thing upon which I especially pride myself it is my courtesy to women, let them be young or old, rich or poor, and I felt that in permitting myself to lose consciousness, even though it were but for a second, I had been guilty of a piece of gross discourtesy to a woman whom I was daily growing to respect and esteem more profoundly. Respect and esteem! Nay, those were cold words in which to express the feeling with which I was rapidly coming to regard this much vilified, much misunderstood woman; admiration was a word much nearer the truth: and I sincerely hoped that my momentary involuntary lapse of attention had escaped her notice. I presently believed that it had, for when I ventured to look at her I perceived that she was staring into vacancy, as people are apt to do sometimes when they are expressing their views on a subject upon which they feel very deeply.

We conversed together for nearly three hours that morning, and when at length the queen dismissed me the last shred of suspicion raised in my mind against her by Anuti had vanished, and in its stead I was conscious of a feeling of exalted, romantic devotion, such as the knights errant of old must have felt when they went forth to perform some deed of desperate gallantry in honour of the women who had won their admiration.

When I rode out from the palace that afternoon, I was animated by a fervent hope that I might encounter Anuti; for I longed for the opportunity to convince him that the ideas which he had somehow formed with regard to his royal wife were as far from the truth as darkness is from light, or as the east is from the west. And, as sometimes happens, my desire was gratified; for as I rode down the valley to pay my daily visit to the wagon, I found the man obviously waiting for me at the spot where we had previously met.

Upon seeing me he pressed his heels to his zebra's sides, and galloped forward to meet me, greeting me with the same frank friendliness as before.

"Well met, Anuti," said I. "I have been hoping that I might see you, for I have several matters of moment that I wish to discuss with you. Will you ride with me to the end of the valley, or shall I accompany you to your house?"

"Let us ride to the end of the valley first, Chia'gnosi," said he; "then, afterwards, if you will accompany me to my house, I shall feel myself very deeply honoured."

"Right!" I said. "Forward, then! Now, Anuti, I wonder whether you can guess why I am so anxious to have an opportunity to converse with you?"

"I think I can," he answered, with that frank, genial smile of his which had so favourably impressed me at our former meeting. "You want to prove to me that my ideas concerning Bimbane are all wrong, and that I, and those who regard her as I do, are doing her the utmost injustice. Is not that it?"

"Heavens, man, you must be a thought-reader!" I ejaculated in astonishment. "How did you come to guess that?"

"Oh," he replied laughingly, "it was quite easy! I knew that by the time you next met me Bimbane would have fully convinced you that she is a wronged and grossly maligned woman; and, having thoroughly read your character at our last meeting, I was sure that no sooner would she have done that than your chivalry of feeling would urge you to espouse her cause and undertake the task of proving to me and the rest of her enemies that, in regarding her as we do, we are doing her a hideous injustice. Well, now is your opportunity to convince me—if you can. She has convinced you. Tell me, how did she do it?"

By way of reply I related in detail everything that had happened since I had last met him, repeated our conversations word for word, so far as I could recall them, and dwelt at length upon the many exalted sentiments and lofty aspirations to which the queen had given expression; asking him finally how he could possibly associate those sentiments and aspirations with a woman of such a character as he believed that of Bimbane to be.

"Quite impossible, Chia'gnosi," he answered, "if she were sincere in their expression."

"And how do you know that she is not?" I demanded hotly.

"How do you know that she is?" he retorted. "You have only her word for it; she has not furnished you with a shadow of proof. It is easy for a woman—or a man—to express exalted sentiments and lofty aspirations, even though she—or he—may not feel them. As a matter of fact, I entertain the precise sentiments and have the same aspirations with which you credit Bimbane; but I suppose you will require something more than my bare assertion before you will believe me. Yet why should you doubt me, and believe her? I will tell you. It is because she has thrown the spell of her magic over you! You tell me that yesterday she cast you into a trance wherein you saw the way which you must follow in order to find the captive child of your friend. By allowing her to do that, you afforded her an opportunity to get you under her influence and into her power; and to-day, when you fell asleep while she was conversing with you, she was simply testing and strengthening her power over you. You believed that your sleep lasted but a second or two; I believe that it may have lasted half an hour or longer, during which she was getting more complete control over you: and when at length she aroused you from your trance she simply resumed her conversation at the point where it had broken off at the moment when you lost consciousness; hence you imagined—as she intended you should—that you had been asleep but for a moment."

"I will not believe it," I exclaimed hotly. "Nothing shall convince me that any woman could be so base as to take such dastardly advantage of a man as you suggest."

"Has the mischief indeed gone so far as that?" demanded Anuti, soberly enough now. "Then I am very sorry for you, Chia'gnosi; very sorry for us all. For in that case you will never be permitted to leave Bandokolo, never have the opportunity to rescue the captive daughter of your friend; while as for the rest of us, we shall inevitably be plunged into a disastrous civil war, in which many of Bandokolo's highest and best will be slain. Probably Bimbane, aided by you, will triumph; but, believe me, when it is too late and the evil has been wrought, you will discover that you have made a disastrous mistake—or, rather, have been hideously deceived. Ah, do not shake your head in unbelief, my friend, for remember that I am speaking from experience. I know that what I say is true, because it was through the influence which Bimbane gained over me that she constrained me to become her spouse, although I loved Siluce. You look incredulous; you doubtless think that I might have resisted, had I chosen: but I swear to you that so complete was her power over me that I was absolutely helpless, and although I fully understood the enormity of the crime which she was committing, and which she was compelling me to commit, I was powerless to resist, because I could not escape from her. But afterward, when the foul wrong was done, when I was irrevocably bound to her, and my poor Siluce had been driven forth to perish miserably, Bimbane foolishly relaxed her hold upon me, thinking, I suppose, that, the knot being tied, I should not attempt to escape, but should accept the ignoble fate which she had designed for me. Also I think she was indifferent, because the event proved that I was not the man through whom she believes she is to recover her long-lost youth and beauty. And I took advantage of this relaxation of vigilance on her part to escape from the palace and from her influence, and, despite her entreaties and commands, have steadfastly refused to return: hence I have been able gradually to shake off her influence until now I am quite free from it; and I tell you that never again shall she have an opportunity to recover her power over me, if I can help it. Now, if you are not so completely bewitched as to be incapable of distinguishing between truth and falsehood, come with me, for I am prepared to submit to you ample and convincing proof of the truth of all my charges against Bimbane."

"Very well," said I, "I will go with you, for although the matter is really no concern of mine I am anxious to get at the truth, if only in order that I may be of some assistance in adjusting this most unhappy misunderstanding between the queen and the nobles. For I am convinced that it is nothing more serious than a misunderstanding, and that a little explanation on either side will suffice to clear it up completely. But I warn you, Anuti, not to indulge in any false hopes of your ability to persuade me of the queen's guilt, for I shall need something far more convincing than unsupported assertions to satisfy me."

"Yet Bimbane's unsupported assertions have thus far completely satisfied you; do not forget that, Chia'gnosi," retorted Anuti. "However," he continued, "if you can persuade yourself to regard the question of the queen's guilt or innocence as an open one for a little while, I have no doubt of my ability to make you recognise the truth."

Much more was said by Anuti to the same effect, but as it was in the main but a reiteration and amplification of his previous statements, it need not be repeated here; suffice it to say that by the time we reached his house he had brought me to a state of mind which enabled me to recognise that, after all, it was just possible that I might be mistaken, that Bimbane might not be the sort of person I had allowed her to persuade me she was, and that Anuti and his friends were at least entitled to a dispassionate hearing.

And then, when at length we reached Anuti's dwelling, that individual introduced me to some thirty of the most important and influential nobles and chiefs of Bandokolo, among whom was Mindula, the father of the unhappy Siluce; and, one after the other, these men arose and related the wrongs, the cruelties, and the injustices which they and theirs had suffered at the hands of Bimbane, accompanying their statements with proofs of so convincing a character that I no longer found it possible to disbelieve. And when at length the session was over I arose, stunned, astounded, horrified, and furious at the thought of the danger which I had so narrowly escaped, of falling into the hands of a vile, unscrupulous woman, and becoming her willing, deluded tool.

"And now," I demanded, as the nobles rose to depart, "what am I to do? It is impossible that I can continue to reside in the palace and remain the guest of the queen; yet, having come so far, I do not like the idea of quitting the country without at least enough of the gold and shining stones to repay me for the toil and peril of my adventure. And I suppose that when I announce my intention of quitting the palace the queen will at once conjecture that I have been in communication with you, and have learned the truth concerning her. Will she attempt to detain me by force, think you?"

"It is impossible to surmise what she may do," answered Anuti. "It is, however, not force so much as persuasion that you have to fear, for I do not believe that there is a man in Bandokolo who would be willing to face your fire weapons, even at Bimbane's command: but if you venture to return to the palace and see her again, rest assured that she will bring the whole power of her influence to bear upon you in the effort to persuade you that we have deceived you, and that your original opinion of her was the correct one. And you best know whether you have now the strength of will to resist her beguilements. It would be safer, perhaps, not to risk it, but to take up your abode here with me. I will send a messenger to your servant, if you like, telling him—"

"No," said I decisively, as the thought that 'Mfuni was still in the queen's power came to me for the first time, "I must return to the palace, face the queen, inform her that I now know the truth concerning her and refuse any longer to remain her guest, and see what comes of it. As to her seeking to influence me, I have no doubt that she will do that, but I must take the risk; and now that I am fully convinced of the truth of all your assertions, I do not greatly dread the result. I will go at once, and get the interview over; after which I can either return here or ride to the wagon and make it my abode, as I have already done for so many months."

"Nay," said Anuti, "you shall certainly not do that. There is ample room in this house for you, and so long as you remain in Masakisale you must consent to be my most welcome and honoured guest."

So it was arranged; and then, after a little further conversation, and reiterated warnings to be on my guard against every possible description of machination on the part of the queen, I mounted and rode back to the palace at a hand gallop, determined to get through what was certain to be a very unpleasant business forthwith. As 'Mfuni came out, at my approach, to receive my horse, I bade him walk the animal to and fro, instead of unsaddling him, and hold himself ready to accompany me to new quarters upon my reappearance. Then, entering the palace, I made my way straight to the queen's apartments, and sent in a message craving an immediate interview.

I was admitted at once, and found Her Majesty occupying her usual seat upon the divan. At my entrance she dismissed her attendants; and, as soon as we were alone, invited me by a gesture to seat myself at her side. But I declined, saying that, as my interview would be but brief, I preferred to stand.

"Nay, Chia'gnosi," she returned, "it will not be so brief as you appear to think; therefore sit, I pray you, if not by my side, then opposite me, for it wearies me to see you standing. That is well!"—as I drew up an ottoman and seated myself upon it.

Bimbane kept silence for a short time, resting her chin upon her clasped hands and regarding me with an inexpressibly mournful expression; and as I returned her gaze I felt my anger against her dying away, and a great pity for her taking its place in my heart. She looked so small, so frail, so utterly helpless and lonely and miserable that all the innate chivalry of my nature arose and clamoured that it was impossible she could be guilty of the crimes imputed to her; that I had judged her hastily and unfairly; that I had wronged her by lending a too ready ear to her declared enemies; and that in deciding to forsake her I had been guilty of a base and cowardly thing. Then a faint smile of dawning triumph, which lighted up her eyes and irradiated her face, warned me of my danger, warned me that again she was exercising her evil influence upon me, and that I was fast succumbing to it; it reminded me of the dreadful state of helplessness to which Anuti had been reduced by that influence; and I pulled myself together and braced my mental powers to meet and resist it. And as I did so the smile of triumph vanished from her eyes, and was replaced by a gleam of malice and hatred so deadly that although it was but momentary I recoiled in something that, if it was not fear, was very closely akin to it. Yet I was glad that I had caught that fleeting expression, for it reassured me; it afforded me a transitory glimpse of the woman's true character, and taught me more thoroughly, perhaps, than anything else could that Anuti and his friends were right and justified in their denunciation of her character. And I think she must have realised in that moment that she had betrayed herself and lost her hold upon me, for when she spoke her voice was harsh and bitter, and full of scornful anger.

"So, Chia'gnosi," she said, "you, to whom I extended a cordial welcome to my kingdom, whom I made a general of my army, upon whom I heaped benefits innumerable, even to the bestowal upon you of all the shining stones I possess, and which you have so greatly craved—you whom I deemed the very soul and embodiment of chivalry and honour and truth— you have stooped so low as to clandestinely consort with my enemies, to hearken to their slanderous tongues, to credit the base falsehoods about me which they have poured into your ears; and now you have the assurance to come to me with the purpose of telling me that I am so utterly vile that even you, false and craven that you are, will no longer remain my guest, from fear of contamination!"

"I don't quite know how you came by your information, unless it was by means of your accursed magic," I said, "but in the main you are right. There are one or two errors with regard to detail, such, for example, as your reference to the 'falsehoods' told me about you by Anuti and his friends, and also with regard to my reason for quitting the palace. But, after all, these discrepancies are really of no moment, and may be allowed to pass. That which is of moment is the fact that I cannot possibly remain any longer the guest of a woman who has been guilty of such crimes as you have perpetrated, nor can I submit to the degradation of retaining any of the gifts which I have accepted from you. I shall leave them all in my rooms when I presently quit them; and my regret at abandoning them will be much less than that which I shall always feel since it has been my misfortune to have been brought into contact with yourself, and thus to have learned beyond question that such women sometimes actually exist."

"Oh, Chia'gnosi, you are cruel, bitterly cruel and unjust to say such things to me!" she cried; and then, to my utter consternation, she burst into a perfect passion of weeping, and again I felt my heart insidiously softening and warming toward her, she looked so utterly woebegone, so terribly helpless and friendless. But the moment that I became conscious of the feeling I brought my will power to bear and determinedly repressed it; although I confess that I never in my life had a more difficult task than that which I battled with while Bimbane proceeded to explain tearfully that although she had undoubtedly done those deeds with which Anuti and his friends charged; her, she had been compelled to do them in the interests of good government and for reasons of state, and that if I would only listen to her explanation I would see that they were capable of a very different interpretation from that put upon them by her enemies.

And I listened—I will do myself the justice to say that I listened patiently to the woman's attempt to exculpate herself by proving that her crimes were really not crimes at all, but grim necessities of the peculiar position which she occupied as ruler of a turbulent and restive people. But, having steeled myself against the effect of her tears and her pathetic assumption of helplessness, I was able instantly to detect and draw her attention to the weak points of her defence; with the result that at last, realising, I suppose, that she had lost her power over me and that I was no longer to be cajoled, she suddenly abandoned her efforts and flew into a furious passion, abusing me most abominably, and heaping upon my head every opprobrious epithet that she could think of—and she was able to think of a good many.

"And you are fool enough to think that after such treatment as I have received at your hands I will let you go?" she shrieked in a perfect frenzy of fury. "No, Chia'gnosi; you have humiliated me as I believe no woman was ever before humiliated by a man, and since you have scorned my friendship you shall learn what it means to incur my hate. See!" and she flashed the ring on her thumb before my eyes. "By the power which the possession of this stone confers upon me I slay all your cattle. So! they are dead!" and she dashed her clenched right fist toward me. "Now it is impossible for you to leave the country, unless you choose to adventure into the wilderness without your wagon. But even that you shall not do. You shall leave this palace, as you have determined, at once, but it shall be to lodge in the cage next that occupied by the captive man-monkeys; and as soon as I have disposed of Anuti and his friends I will proclaim a festival, at which you and those of my enemies who survive shall do battle with an equal number of the monkeys, for the delectation and amusement of the people! Aha, Chia'gnosi, it will be a rare sight to watch you, unarmed, fighting for your life against the biggest and most savage man-monkey that my hunters can capture! Ha, release me, brute! What would you do to me? Help—!"

Although I had not the smallest belief in the woman's power to destroy my cattle by any alleged occult virtue pertaining to her wonderful ring, the sight of it flashed before my eyes in so provocative a manner reminded me of my almost forgotten promise to Siluce to take the jewel from Bimbane, if I could; and, exasperated at last beyond endurance by her abuse and threats, I sprang to my feet, seized her right hand in mine, and, while I stifled her cries for help with my left, drew the ring from her thumb and thrust it upon my own little finger, animated by some sudden impulse for which I could not in the least account.

And as the ring passed from her possession into mine, the change that occurred in us both was startling in the extreme, particularly so as regarded Bimbane. For a few seconds after I released her she remained absolutely silent and motionless, as though scarcely able to realise what had happened; then, instead of summoning her guards and handing me over to their custody, she instantly became abjectly apologetic and pleading, entreating me to restore her ring in exchange for anything and everything that I might choose to demand. She offered me gold and diamonds without limit, perfect liberty to remain in the country as its honoured guest as long as I pleased, and all the help I might need in the transport of my spoils when it should please me to start upon my return journey; in short, she gave me clearly to understand that I need set no limits upon my demands if I would but restore the ring to her. But as for me, the moment that I slipped the jewel upon my finger I became conscious of a strange, new, exhilarating sense of power, of ability to do things, of being generally complete master of the situation; and I determined that I would keep the ring, if for no other reason than that Bimbane seemed to attach such an extraordinary value to it, and to require its restoration so badly. I therefore left her at last, quite exhausted with her fruitless entreaties, and doubled up in a little, shapeless, miserably sobbing heap on the divan; and as I went forth from the apartment I summoned her waiting women and directed them to go in and attend to the queen, as I feared that Her Majesty was unwell.



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

THE CLIMAX OF THE ADVENTURE.

Hastening across to the suite of apartments I had thus far occupied, I discarded the splendid garments which had been presented to me by the queen, and in which I had been wont to appear in public, and resumed the somewhat worn and faded suit in which I had arrived at Masakisale; after which I turned my back upon the rooms, as I thought for ever, and descended to where 'Mfuni awaited me, walking my horse to and fro before the main entrance to the palace. The Mashona seemed somewhat startled to behold me once more clad in my shabby travelling garments; but without wasting any time in explaining matters I simply bade him hasten to the wagon, ascertain how things were in that quarter, and report to me at Anuti's house, which I pointed out to him. Then, urging Prince into a gallop, I made the best of my way to Anuti's abode, anxious to communicate to him what had passed at my final interview with Bimbane, and to take counsel with him as to what was best to be done under the circumstances.

He was at home when I arrived, and might indeed have been watching for me, for he came forth to me as I dismounted.

"Aha, Chia'gnosi," he exclaimed, "welcome to my house, for I perceive that something of import has happened at the palace, and that you have indeed left it, as you resolved to do!"

"Yes," said I. "I have left the palace, never to return to it; for I have quarrelled with Bimbane beyond all possibility of reconciliation. And now, if you are not afraid to give me lodgment for a short time, I will very gladly avail myself of your offered hospitality; for I want to tell you exactly what has happened, and to obtain your advice."

"Pray, enter, and again welcome," he replied. "No, I am not at all afraid to receive you as my guest; for you will be perfectly safe here, and—But what is that I see on your finger?—surely not the magic ring of Bimbane!"

He seized my right hand, stared incredulously at the ring on my little finger, and then, murmuring: "It is, it is!" sank upon one knee before me, pressed the ring to his forehead, and exclaimed:

"Salutations and homage, O high and mighty King! I know not how it has come to pass, but this is a great and happy day for Bandokolo; for at last the dominion has passed out of the hands of that cruel and wicked woman, under whose galling yoke the country has groaned for unnumbered generations, and has passed into yours, who will rule us mercifully, wisely, and justly. Great is my pride and joy, O Chia'gnosi, that mine is the privilege to be the first to hail you king. Deign to honour my poor house with your gracious presence for a few hours, Your Majesty, while I go forth and proclaim the glad tidings to the nobles and chiefs here in Masakisale, and make arrangements for the news to be transmitted to the uttermost parts of the kingdom—"

"Stop, stop, for mercy's sake stop your wild talk, and tell me what is the matter, and what you mean by all this rubbish about my being king!" I exclaimed, as soon as I had sufficiently recovered from my amazement to speak, at the same time dragging Anuti to his feet.

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten!" replied Anuti. "Naturally Your Majesty does not understand. How should you, since no one has explained? In a few words, then, the matter stands thus. The possession of that ring carries with it the sovereignty of Bandokolo, and since you now possess it, you are, in virtue thereof, the monarch of the country; and right glad will all be that such is the case. But, if I may be permitted to ask, how passed the ring into your possession? For the tradition runs that it may only pass as a free gift from the reigning monarch to his— or her—chosen successor when the former is at the point of death; to attempt to steal it, or to take it by force, brings upon the would-be robber the doom of a mysterious, terrible death, otherwise Bimbane the Cruel would not have been permitted to reign so long. Yet I find it difficult to imagine that—that—"

"She surrendered it to me of her own free will?" I interrupted. "You are right, Anuti, she did not. We quarrelled; she threatened to set you and me, among others, to fight the man-monkeys, and declared that by virtue of this ring she would destroy—has indeed destroyed—the remainder of my team of oxen. This made me angry; and in my anger I flung myself upon her, snatched the ring from her thumb, and placed it upon my own finger. And—and—there it is, as you see," I finished lamely.

"Yes. And you still live!" said Anuti thoughtfully. "It is wonderful; and it is proof conclusive that you are destined to be our king."

"Nonsense, man," I retorted; "it is proof of nothing of the kind. I have no desire to be your king. All that I want is to find the daughter of my friend, rescue her from captivity, and return to my own country, taking with me, by your goodwill, as many of the shining stones as will enable me to retrieve my ruined fortunes. Therefore, permit me—" and before Anuti knew what I was about I withdrew the fateful ring from my own finger and slipped it on his.

"There!" I continued, "now you are the king, which is as it should be. The Bandokolo will rejoice to have you as their sovereign, while, as for me, if you require any help or advice that I can give, it shall be freely yours; and when once you are firmly established upon the throne I will bid you farewell and go my way. But what about Bimbane; what will you do with her?"

"There will be neither trouble nor difficulty in disposing of her, for she has not a friend in all Bandokolo," answered Anuti. "It will but be necessary for me to display this ring and even her bodyguards will gladly transfer their allegiance to me. And perhaps you are right, Chia'gnosi, in the matter of the kingship; it is better that the Bandokolo should be governed by one of themselves than by a stranger. But you have this day done a service to the Bandokolo which we shall not forget, for by your action in wresting this ring from the queen, and, with it, all her power and authority, you have saved the country from civil war, with all its attendant horrors and slaughter. And now it will be well that the nobles and chiefs should be instantly informed of what has happened; therefore, if you will excuse me for a short time, I will dispatch the necessary messengers."

Anuti had been absent about three-quarters of an hour when a servant announced that two of my natives desired speech with me; and when they were introduced they proved to be 'Mfuni and Piet, who had encountered each other on the main road and now returned together, bringing with them the astounding news that the whole of my oxen had suddenly dropped dead while feeding, at the precise moment—so far as I was able to fix it—when Bimbane had pronounced their death warrant! It was a very extraordinary thing, much too extraordinary, I thought, to be a mere coincidence; yet I was not so much astonished as I might otherwise have been, for I had by this time been long enough in Bandokolo to have realised that many surprising and startling things happened there which would have been regarded as impossible in more civilised countries.