t; he had
powerful shoulders and his feet in comparison with Mea's feet were
relatively small.

As he did not speak Arabian at all and spoke poorly the Kiswahili
language with which one can converse almost anywhere in Africa and
which Stas had learned fairly well from the natives of Zanzibar,
working on the Canal, it was evident that he came from some distant
region.

Stas determined to sound him upon this point.

"Kali, what is the name of your people?" he asked.

"Wahima," answered the young negro.

"Is that a great nation?"

"Great, which is making war upon the bad Samburus and takes their
cattle."

"Is that country like this?"

"No. There are mountains and great water."

"How is that water called?"

"We call it 'The Dark Water.'"

Stas thought that the boy might come from the neighborhood of the
Albert Nyanza, which up to that time had been in the hands of Emin
Pasha; so, desiring to confirm this, he asked further:

"Does not a white chief live there who has black smoking boats and
troops?"

"No, the old men with us say that they saw white men, (here Kali parted
his fingers) one, two, three. Yes. There were three of them in long
white dresses. They were looking for tusks. Kali did not see them for
he was not in the world, but Kali's father received them and gave them
many cows."

"What is your father?"

"The king of Wahima."

Stas was flattered a little by the idea that he had a Prince Royal for
a servant.

"Would you like to see your father?"

"Kali wants to see his mother."

"What would you do if we met the Wahimas, and what would they do?"

"The Wahimas would fall on their faces before Kali."

"Lead us to them; then you shall remain with them and rule after your
father, and we will go farther to the sea."

"Kali cannot find the way to them, and cannot remain, for Kali loves
the great master and the daughter of the moon."

Stas turned merrily to his companion and said:

"Nell, you have become the daughter of the moon."

But, glancing at her, he saddened suddenly, for it occurred to him that
the emaciated girl actually looked with her pale and transparent
countenance more like a lunar than an earthly being.

The young negro became silent for a while; then he repeated:

"Kali loves Bwana kubwa, for Bwana kubwa did not kill Kali, only Gebhr,
and gives Kali a great deal to eat."

And he began to stroke his breast, repeating with evident delight:

"A great deal of meat! a great