ed around the tent, and
squatting upon their haunches ate and jabbered to their hearts' content.

It was highly amusing to watch the interest with which the natives
regarded the stolid soldiers of Mo, who stood in long lines, motionless
as statues. They went close up to them, examined them from head to foot,
drew the sword from its sheath, handled it and tried its edge with a
grunt of satisfaction. Then they would replace it, finger the
accoutrements, examine carefully what they thought might be gold, and at
last, folding their arms, would stand silent, awe-stricken at the whole
effect of the unknown race.

The denizens of this mysterious country, however, seemed to regard our
natives with supercilious disdain. Probably their contempt had been
engendered by the fact that certain tribes had on several occasions
attempted an invasion, and they had from their formidable heights simply
swept them out of existence as easily as a fly may be crushed with the
finger. When looking at the handsome women, the enormous mouths of the
Dagombas would widen into broad grins which, intended to convey an
expression of delight, in reality rendered them hideous.

For three hours we remained in the tent, sheltered from the sun's glaring
heat, while parties of a dozen of our followers continued to arrive. It
was Omar's intention to enter the capital with the whole of our faithful
band, otherwise he would have started immediately we had gained the
summit. Babila urged him to do so, but he expressed a desire that Kona
and his heroic blacks should accompany us.

At last the whole of the party had gained the top of the rock and had
refreshed themselves after their toil and peril; the rope ladder with its
hidden electric wires had been hauled up, and, headed by men blowing loud
blasts upon great horns of ivory and gold, we all moved forward, a most
imposing and magnificent cavalcade.

Both Omar and myself had been mounted on fine milk-white horses with gay
trappings of silver and royal blue, while behind us came Kona with a very
unsteady seat upon a long raw-boned stallion. He was evidently not used
to horses, and the way he clutched at the mane each time his animal
trotted convulsed both his men and the soldiers in the vicinity with
laughter.

A shady march of two days in a north-westerly direction up the bank of a
babbling stream brought us to higher land. The journey was uneventful,
the country being devoid of both game and people. We sa