h one blow of thy sword. For thy prompt
punishment of the fellow thou wert exalted by the Naya and given command
over her body-guard. It was because thou didst unearth the dastardly
conspiracy against her life that thou wert given the custodianship of the
Gate of Mo."

"True," the man answered with a smile of satisfaction. "In one of my age
loss of memory is excusable, yet now on looking closely at thee, I see
the resemblance--yea, I welcome thee home, my lord the prince."

In an instant his manner had changed, and he became the most obedient of
slaves.

"Very well," Omar said. "Now thou art satisfied that I am what I said we
will lose no time in passing the last barrier."

"But these?" Babila inquired, glancing suspiciously at the black rabble
forming our Dagomba following.

"They are my escort," Omar answered. "Every man, from Kona, the head-man,
to the meanest slave, is my trusted servant, and they all deserve reward.
Each shall enter Mo and receive it at the hands of the Naya herself. This
I have already promised."

"The servants of the lord prince are welcome. The people shall _fete_
them, and make their days pass as quickly as seconds fly. If thou art
desirous they shall enter and be presented to the great Naya before whose
eyes all men quail," Babila said, bowing humbly before his royal master.

"Then let us not pause. We desire to enter Mo without an instant's
further delay. The way has been long and the obstacles great, but we have
successfully accomplished all, and seek now to enter the palace of my
queen-mother."

"Thy commands shall be obeyed," the man replied, again salaaming, and,
walking to the rope, he placed the loops under his arm-pits, and a few
minutes later was on his way back to the mysterious land, waving his hand
to us and promising that ere an hour passed we should enter the realm of
the Great White Queen.

With eager upturned faces we watched the cautious custodian of the mystic
kingdom dangling at the end of the rope, gradually leaving us, until at
length he was hauled up upon the far-off summit of the rock and
disappeared among the small crowd collected at the brow. The men were
evidently soldiers, and the eager manner in which they grouped themselves
about Babila when he stepped into their midst, showed what intense
excitement our arrival had caused.

As we watched we soon afterwards saw lowered from the towering height
what appeared at first to be a thin black cord, but which, w