ng a
curious inquiry as to the number of owners through which the articles
must have passed, before they were transferred from the legs of an
English squire to those of a Namaqua chief.

Umboo had noticed the demeanour of the younger portion of his visitors,
but he had happily no suspicion of its true explanation, being himself
rather inclined to attribute it to the awe which his presence inspired.
He was, however, unacquainted not only with the English language, but
with the Dutch also; and Omatoko was obliged to act as interpreter
between the two parties--an office, apparently, which was greatly to his
taste.

After a long interview, in which the chief manifested the greatest
curiosity as to the previous history of his visitors, the circumstances
which had led to their presence in the country, and the course which
they now proposed to pursue, he was pleased to intimate to them that
their audience was ended, but that he had assigned a hut for their
special accommodation, and one of his people to attend on them and
provide them with food, as long as they remained in the kraal.

Having expressed their thanks and taken leave, the four friends
withdrew, and were ushered to their house by Toboo, the latter being, as
they discovered, the attendant of whom the chief had spoken. Here they
found Lion, lying in one corner on a heap of reeds, apparently none the
worse for his journey.

"Well," said Nick, as he threw himself on a bed of dried grass covered
with one or two karosses, "this is better than the desert, anyhow! I
suppose his Majesty, King Umboo, keeps a pretty good table, and a decent
cook. Are we to have the honour, by the bye, of dining at the royal
board, or is a separate cuisine to be kept up for us? In the first
instance, will it be necessary to dress for dinner; in the second, who
is to give orders to the cook?"

"And if we are to be his Majesty's guests, will the Queen be present?"
asked Frank; "and if she is, which of us is to have the honour of
handing her in to dinner?"

"You forget, Frank, there is more than one Mrs Umboo. I believe there
are as many as a dozen, if not more."

"Well, then, they won't all dine, I suppose, at least not on the same
day. I dare say they'll take it in turns, so as to have the advantage
of improving their manners by European polish," said Wilmore. "By the
bye, were those his wives or his daughters that were sitting on the
skins at the back of the tent. There was on