our finding my poor brother, it makes the idea easier to me. But
fortune favours the brave, and we may succeed. Anyway, the battle will
be awful, and having a reputation to keep up, we shall need to be in
the thick of the thing."

He made this last remark in a mournful voice, but there was a gleam in
his eye which belied its melancholy. I have an idea Sir Henry Curtis
actually likes fighting.

After this we went to sleep for a couple of hours or so.

Just about dawn we were awakened by Infadoos, who came to say that
great activity was to be observed in Loo, and that parties of the
king's skirmishers were driving in our outposts.

We rose and dressed ourselves for the fray, each putting on his chain
armour shirt, for which garments at the present juncture we felt
exceedingly thankful. Sir Henry went the whole length about the matter,
and dressed himself like a native warrior. "When you are in
Kukuanaland, do as the Kukuanas do," he remarked, as he drew the
shining steel over his broad breast, which it fitted like a glove. Nor
did he stop there. At his request Infadoos had provided him with a
complete set of native war uniform. Round his throat he fastened the
leopard-skin cloak of a commanding officer, on his brows he bound the
plume of black ostrich feathers worn only by generals of high rank, and
about his middle a magnificent moocha of white ox-tails. A pair of
sandals, a leglet of goat's hair, a heavy battle-axe with a
rhinoceros-horn handle, a round iron shield covered with white ox-hide,
and the regulation number of _tollas_, or throwing-knives, made up his
equipment, to which, however, he added his revolver. The dress was, no
doubt, a savage one, but I am bound to say that I seldom saw a finer
sight than Sir Henry Curtis presented in this guise. It showed off his
magnificent physique to the greatest advantage, and when Ignosi arrived
presently, arrayed in a similar costume, I thought to myself that I had
never before seen two such splendid men.

As for Good and myself, the armour did not suit us nearly so well. To
begin with, Good insisted upon keeping on his new-found trousers, and a
stout, short gentleman with an eye-glass, and one half of his face
shaved, arrayed in a mail shirt, carefully tucked into a very seedy
pair of corduroys, looks more remarkable than imposing. In my case, the
chain shirt being too big for me, I put it on over all my clothes,
which caused it to bulge in a somewhat ungainly fashion.