of leaked, the foundations had settled,
and not a door closed as it should close. On the day of his arrival the
duc found a _mamba_ resting luxuriously in his one armchair, a discovery
which suggested the existence of a whole colony of these deadly
brutes--the _mamba_ bite is fatal in exactly ninety seconds--under or
near the house.

The other fifty dispatches probably had to do with the late
Commissioner's arrears of pay, for Portugal at that time was in the
throes of her annual crisis, and ministries were passing through the
Government offices at Lisbon with such rapidity that before a cheque
could be carried from the Foreign Office to the bank, it was out of
date.

Uango Bozeri is 220 miles by road from the coast, and is the centre of
the child-like people of the M'fusi. Here the duc dwelt and had his
being, as Governor of 2,000 square miles, and overlord of some million
people who were cannibals with a passion for a fiery liquid which was
described by traders as "rum." It was as near rum as the White City is
to Heaven; that is to say, to the uncultivated taste it might have been
rum, and anyway was as near to rum as the taster could expect to get.

This is all there is to be said about the duc de Sagosta, save that his
headman swindled him, his soldiers were conscienceless natives
committing acts of brigandage in his innocent name, whilst his chief at
Moanda was a peculating and incompetent scoundrel.

At the time when the duc was finding life a bitter and humiliating
experience, and had reached the stage when he sat on his predecessor's
grave for company, a small and unauthorized party crossed the frontier
from the British Territories in search of adventure.

Now it happened that the particular region through which the border-line
passed was governed by the Chief of the Greater M'fusi, who was a
cannibal, a drunkard, and a master of two regiments.

The duc had been advised not to interfere with the chief of his people,
and he had (after one abortive and painful experience) obeyed his
superiors, accepting the hut tax which was sent to him (and which was
obviously and insolently inadequate) without demur.

No white man journeyed to the city of the M'fusi without invitation
from the chief, and as Chief Karata never issued such invitation, the
Greater M'fusi was a _terra incognita_ even to his Excellency the
Governor-General of the Central and Western Provinces.

Karata was a drunkard approaching lunacy. It wa