ld not gain the chance for some time.

When the king turned upon his brother for an explanation of what he had
done, Ziffak was prepared. It was the intention of Burkhardt to shoot
not the white man but the princess herself, because she had refused his
love. He heard Burkhardt mutter those words to himself and it was
because of those words that Ziffak drove his javelin through his body.

King Haffgo looked sharply at his kinsman when he made this unblushing
response, but his doubts if there were any quickly vanished, when he
recalled the impetuosity with which he had attacked the defenders in
the house and the vigor of his pursuit and his evident indignation and
chagrin at the escape of the two white men. No, Ziffak might talk
plainly with his royal brother, but when the time for action came he
was a true Murhapa, who knew only his duty to his king.

Besides, the little flurry between the two had helped to clear away the
fogs of misunderstanding as the lightning often purifies the murky
atmosphere. The pursuit of the lovers was quickly organized, for they
now occupied the thoughts of the king to the exclusion of everything
else. Grimcke and Long could not be far off, and a vigorous hunt was
likely to discover one or both of them, but the king gave orders that
no attempt of the kind should be made. It was his intention to leave
the village for an indefinite time, and he wished every one of his
warriors to remain while he was absent. It cannot be said that he was
afraid of such an insignificant force, but there was a strong vein of
superstition in his nature, which caused a vague fear of the men that
had escaped him with such wonderful cleverness. Individuals who could
do _that_ sort of thing, were capable of doing things still more
marvellous, and to use homely language, King Haffgo was taking no
chances.

The party in pursuit numbered just ten persona including the king,
Ziffak, Waggaman, and the very pick of the tribe. They were all
splendid fellows, fit to be the body-guard of a king, who, when he laid
aside the robes of cumbrous dress he was accustomed to wear, and
arrayed himself similarly to the warriors, proved himself no mean
leader of such a party.

Any one looking upon the little company would have been most impressed
by the fact that there were nine dusky barbarians, half naked and as
black as Africans, under the guidance of a man as fair as any European;
and yet, as the reader knows, the most pr