the city I have dispatched on
expeditions with orders to attack and destroy the fugitives."

"They cannot have travelled far," the young ruler said. "They have only
about twelve hours' start of your men."

"To a man our troops are now loyal to thee," the newly-created chief of
the army answered. "They are alive to the fact that Samory's fighting-men
are their bitterest foes, therefore if the survivors of that intrepid
force are within our boundaries, they will assuredly be overtaken and
killed."

"I would rather that they were captured and held as hostages," Omar said.
"Enough blood hath been already shed to-day."

"The order to capture them is not sufficient incentive to thine army to
rout them from their hiding-place," Kona replied. "They have had the
audacity to make a dash upon thy city and burn some of its most renowned
and beautiful structures, therefore in their opinion if not in thine,
death alone would expiate their offence."

"I would wish their lives to be spared," Omar repeated. "But the army is
under thy control, and I leave the final annihilation of the band of
freebooters unto thee. Hast thou obtained any tidings of the Naya's
flight?"

"None. My Dagombas have searched every nook and corner of this thy
palace, each prison dungeon hath been entered by detachments of soldiers,
while enthusiastic parties have descended to the subterranean Temple of
Zomara, but found only the dwarf priests there. The Naya hath disappeared
as completely as if Zomara had crushed her between his jaws."

"Her disappearance is amazing," Omar observed. "Even her personal
attendants whom I have questioned are ignorant of the direction she hath
taken. They declare that she escaped within ten minutes of the blowing up
of the palace-gate. The catastrophe alarmed her, and she saw in the fall
of these defences the instability of her throne."

"All is being done that can be done to secure her arrest," Kona said. "It
is absolutely necessary that we should hold her captive, or, like the
deposed queen of the Nupe, she may stir up strife and form a plot to
reascend the stool."

"To thee, Kona, I look to guard me from mine enemies," my friend
exclaimed. "We must elucidate the mystery of the sudden descent of this
weak force of Samory's, the rapidity with which they struck their blow,
and the means by which they have, within twelve hours, so completely
eluded us."

"News of them hath been flashed even unto the furthermost limits of