h they correctly interpreted as the mourning of the ladies
over the tragic end of their lord and master. The interior of the
palace consisted of but one circular apartment, some twenty-five feet in
diameter, hung round with magnificent "karosses," or curtains, made of
the skins of various wild animals. One of these karosses instantly
arrested their attention, from the fact that it conveyed to them the
information that Africa contained at least one other new animal in
addition to those already discovered by them. It was made of zebra
skins; but there was a peculiarity in the marking which clearly
indicated that the animals from which the skins had been taken were of a
new and quite unknown variety. The peculiarity consisted in the fact
that the head, neck, forelegs, and front half of the body were of a
dark-brown colour, while the hinder half of the body was striped like
that of the ordinary zebra.

Von Schalckenberg was at once plunged into an ecstasy of delight at the
discovery, and, with the ruthlessness of the true scientist, announced
his determination to despoil the palace of that particular kaross, let
the opinion of the Makolo upon his act of spoliation be what it might;
and he also there and then secured Sir Reginald's amused consent to
proceed eventually in search of the living animals, if it should prove
possible to learn from the natives where they were to be found.

The furniture of the palace was of the most primitive description,
consisting of a very roughly constructed bed, a low table, of equally
rough manufacture, and an armchair decorated with rude but very
elaborate carvings. There was also a chest--obviously an ordinary
sailor's sea-chest--which Sir Reginald opened, under the belief that
here, if anywhere, would be found such relics of the unfortunate white
people as might still remain in existence.

The chest proved to be about three-parts full, and the first articles
that came to hand were the king's very handsome gold coronet, his
lion-skin mantle, and a necklace of what at first sight appeared to be
red pebbles. Upon closer inspection, however, the stones were
pronounced by the professor to be uncut and unpolished rubies of
exceptional size and beauty, but which were ruined by the roughness and
size of their perforations. There were ninety-three of them in all,
strung upon a thin strip of deerskin, and, had they been perfect, would
have been worth about ten thousand pounds.

The profes