beautifully carved.

"I perceive that you are of the family of wizards," said the man, and
fell back.

Now they entered the kraal and passed for three hundred yards or more
through rows of huts, till they reached the gate of the stockade, which
was opened to them. Once within it, Owen saw a wonderful sight, such a
sight as few white men have seen. The ground of the enormous oval before
him was not flat. Either from natural accident or by design it sloped
gently upwards, so that the spectator, standing by the gate or at
the head of it before the house of the king, could take in its whole
expanse, and, if his sight were keen enough, could see every individual
gathered there.

On the particular day of Owen's arrival it was crowded with regiments,
twelve of them, all dressed in their different uniforms and bearing
shields to match, not one of which was less than 2500 strong. At this
moment the regiments were massed in deep lines, each battalion by
itself, on either side of the broad roadway that ran straight up the
kraal to where the king, his sons, his advisers and guards, together
with the company of wizards, were placed in front of the royal house.

There they stood in absolute silence, like tens of thousands of bronze
statues, and Owen perceived that either they were resting or that they
were gathered thus to receive him. That the latter was the case soon
became evident, for as he appeared, a white spot at the foot of the
slope, countless heads turned and myriads of eyes fastened themselves
upon him. For an instant he was dismayed; there was something terrifying
in this numberless multitude of warriors, and the thought of the task
that he had undertaken crushed his spirit. Then he remembered, and
shaking off his fear and doubt, alone, save for his disciple John,
holding the crucifix aloft, he walked slowly up the wide road towards
the place where he guessed that the king must be. His arm was weary ere
ever he reached it, but at length he found himself standing before a
thickset old man, who was clad in leopard skins and seated upon a stool
of polished wood.

"It is the king," whispered John behind him.

"Peace be to you," said Owen, breaking the silence.

"The wish is good, may it be fulfilled," answered the king in a deep
voice, sighing as he said the words. "Yet yours is a strange greeting,"
he added. "Whence came you, White Man, how are you named, and what is
your mission to me and to my people?"

"King, I