! They were actually traversing the
Way of the Thousand Steps!

Shading my eyes with my hands I eagerly scanned the horizon in the
direction indicated, and there, to my astonishment, saw a long thin black
line. At first I could not distinguish whether it was a file of men or
some inanimate object, but the keen eyes of the savages before and behind
me soon detected its presence, and dozens of voices were in accord that
it was a line of armed men, and that they were moving in our direction.

Instantly it flashed across my mind that whoever they were, friends or
foes, there was not sufficient room for them to pass us upon that narrow
path, and knowing the determination of our followers I wondered what the
result would be when we met. Unable to approach Omar sufficiently near to
converse with him, I watched his face. By the heavy look upon his brow I
knew that trouble was brewing. It was the same look his face wore when we
had been held captive at Kumassi, an expression of resolution and fierce
combativeness.

Soon, however, we moved along again, eager to ascertain who were the
strangers who knew the secret supposed to have been jealously guarded by
the great Naya and her son, and for over an hour pressed forward at a
quicker pace than usual. Fortunately for us the sunset lingered long away
to our left, for by its light we were enabled to see the men approaching,
and before it died out to distinguish, to our amazement, that they all
wore white Arab burnouses and were armed to the teeth. In point of
numbers they were quite double the strength of our little force, but we
knew not whether they were friendly or antagonistic.

This point, however, was at last cleared up by Omar himself, who, just as
it was growing dusk halted, and, turning towards me, shouted in English:

"Scars, are you there?"

"Yes," I answered. "What's up?"

"Those devils in front! Can't you see their banner?"

"No," I answered. Then remembering that he had always possessed a keen
vision, I added: "Who are they?"

"Some of Samory's men, evidently in flight," he answered. "On seeing us
they raised their banner, and are, it seems, determined to cut their way
past us."

"But where have they been that they should know the secret of the
Thousand Steps?" I inquired astounded.

"I'm quite at a loss to understand," he replied puzzled. "The only
solution of the mystery seems to be that Kouaga has, by some means,
obtained knowledge of the secret way, and