to Wow-Wow taste very
handsome, though her portly figure, her hair dyed blue, and hands
stained red and yellow, and the crimson teeth which gave the finishing
touch, might not have been admired in England.

This great lady soon made friendly overtures to the two Englishmen,
calling every day at the hut they occupied, arrayed in gorgeous garments
of striped silk, and glistening with beads and ornaments. Great was the
amusement of the jovial Captain when he discovered that the African
beauty was greatly taken with Lauder, and most unmercifully did he chaff
them both as he sat, puffing at his pipe, at the hut door, much to the
confusion of the shy young Cornishman and the delight of the lady,
Lyuma, who took all his remarks seriously. Poor Lauder at last got so
alarmed that he called upon her, and solemnly informed her that he could
not make up his mind to an African wife.

The beautiful Lyuma, however, was not at all disconcerted, but at once
turned her attentions from Richard to his master, whom she tried to
dazzle by the magnificence of her jewels and the number of her slaves.
The Captain, fairly punished for his teasing, decided to pay a short
visit to the neighbouring King of Boussa, whom he wished to conciliate,
and left Lauder at Wow-Wow in charge of his luggage. But no sooner did
Lyuma hear of his departure than she set off in pursuit, splendidly
arrayed in red, with scarlet morocco leather boots, and attended by a
body of slaves, who cheered the way by discordant music. She looked in
before starting to bid good-bye to Lauder, who may well have laughed at
this turning of the tables upon his master.

But the affair soon took a more serious turn, for King Mohammed,
summoning Lauder to his presence, sternly informed him that his master
and the lady Lyuma were plotting rebellion, and that he himself and the
Captain's luggage would be detained at the King's pleasure. Richard
found remonstrances and explanations of no avail; and, feeling that
Clapperton must be warned of the King's suspicions, he managed to escape
from his guards and hastened with all speed to Boussa. Here he was met
by the news that the Captain had already started on his return journey
by another route, still followed by the admiring Lyuma. The King and
Queen of Boussa received Lauder with the greatest kindness; indeed, the
Queen was so much touched by his pleasant manners and weak look (for he
had but just recovered from fever), that she asked anxio