itish troops. This, as you may imagine, reduced the king--
only temporarily, as it proved--to a condition of servile submission,
and he went home that night a humble and terrified man.

"But, later, he got even with us, for a time, at least; for while
pretending to assist us in our exploration of the ruins, by lending us a
number of women to do such digging as we required, he got an old hag to
drug our coffee, one day; and, while we were all lying insensible, had
us carried up to his village. Matters looked rather bad for us for a
few days, but we eventually contrived to escape--how, I must tell you
some other time; and we then deposed and banished him, putting another
man, named Seketulo, in his place. If events have gone well with this
fellow, I have no doubt we shall have a visit from him to-morrow
morning."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

EVIL TIDINGS.

When, after breakfast, on the following morning, the party on board the
_Flying Fish_ stepped out on deck to enjoy the novel scene around them,
and take their ease under the awning while awaiting the expected visit
from Seketulo, they at once became aware of the fact that the ship was
the centre of an area of considerable activity. For, glancing round
them, from the commanding height of the deck, they were able, with the
assistance of their binoculars, to detect the forms of armed savages
stealing hither and thither through the long grass and between the
numerous clumps of bush with which the plain was thickly overgrown.
Their first thought was that Seketulo had proved false to the trust that
they had reposed in him, and was repeating the folly of his predecessor,
M'Bongwele, by engaging in an attempt to capture the ship. But, as they
continued to watch with curiosity the movements of the savages, this
idea became dissipated, for although the savages were everywhere in
evidence about them, in large numbers, there were none in the immediate
vicinity of the ship, the neighbourhood of which, indeed, they all
appeared to be avoiding with the most studious care. At length the
watchers arrived at two distinct conclusions, the first of which was
that the savages were prosecuting a feverishly eager and anxious search
for some person or persons; and the second, that, while doing so, they
were practising every precaution which the guile of the native mind
could suggest to escape observation from the ship.

"What on earth can the fellows be up to?" remarked Sir Reginald, at