ed at these ominous words proceeding from the beak of a bird,
rose to retort, but ere a word left his mouth the dove spread its wings
and flew away northward in the direction of the land we are now
approaching."

"That's merely a tale," I observed, laughing at this latest illustration
of the African's belief in the impossible.

"Of course. You asked me for one of the stories told by our people," Kona
said. "I have told you one."

"Do you believe that this Great White Queen is invested with such
extraordinary power that she can cause herself to be invisible, and while
bringing destruction to her enemies, assist her friends?" I asked.

"I know not what to believe," he replied in honest bewilderment. "So many
are the tales I have heard that I find it impossible to believe all, and
have ended by disbelieving most. Many of the men with us firmly believe
at this moment that the Naya, invisible, is at our head guiding her son
across the Way of the Thousand Steps, and that to her our victory last
night was due. Our fate lies in her hands."

"Well," I answered, amused, "it matters not who leads us so long as we
enter the promised land. At any rate we could have no better nor more
trustworthy guide than he who is at our head."

Next second, a loud cry from Omar attracted our attention.

CHAPTER XVI.

WORDS OF FIRE.

RAISING our eyes from the straight narrow path whereon we set our feet in
the footprints of those before us, we halted and looked eagerly ahead.

We had come to the edge of what seemed a shallow depression, and already
Omar had disappeared from view, followed cautiously by those immediately
behind him. Owing to the cries of warning and astonishment from each man
who reached the edge, I advanced, carefully following my black companion
in front until I at length gained the spot where the path ended.

Involuntarily a cry of amazement escaped me. I looked over into a fearful
abyss. Below was a fertile valley, but so deep was it that the river
looked only like a silver thread, and the trees but an inch in height. I
was standing on the edge of a huge granite cliff that went down sheer
into the valley, its face almost as flat as the side of a house.

The descent appeared terrible. I shuddered as I looked over, and Kona,
who came behind me, also peeped down and cried:

"See! It is the Great Gulf about which we have heard. Into this the Naya
hurls her enemies."

On the opposite side, about a quarter of