ves!"

I gazed eagerly where he directed, and saw that the trunks of iron and
stone had been blown open by gunpowder, for on each remained a blackened
patch, showing plainly the means used to force the strong chest wherein
reposed the magnificent jewels, the vessels of gold, and the historic
gem-encrusted and invulnerable armour of the Nabas of Mo.

"Then this is the place the secret of which the villainous old Arab,
Samory, endeavoured to wrench from you by torture," I exclaimed, gazing
round the grim, weird cavern.

"Yes," he answered. "This is the Treasure house of my ancestors. Since
the days of King Karmos each Naba or Naya has added to the great store of
treasure amassed for the purpose of the emancipation of our country in
the day of need. Only the reigning monarch and the heir have, in any
generation, ever known the secret of how the Treasure-house can be
approached--the secret I have to-day revealed to you as Keeper of the
Treasure."

"But if you alone knew the secret, who could have ransacked the place?" I
asked. "The chests seem to have been recently opened."

"True," he answered, and pointing to a heap of bejewelled swords,
breastplates and helmets, that had apparently been hastily cast aside as
the least valuable of the great treasure, he added: "All the most
historic and beautiful jewels have been taken, and the gold vessels and
things of minor value left. See! It is plain that the theft was
accomplished in all haste, for there was scarce time to sort the gems
that are unique from those rivalled by others."

"It certainly looks as if the jewels were secured in feverish haste," I
said, at the same time picking up from the uneven floor a bronze oil lamp
lying overturned and discarded.

Together we set about making a systematic examination of the various
chests, numbering nearly one hundred. Those fashioned from single stones
were of great age, looking like coffins, while those of iron were
ponderous caskets bound with huge bands, studded and double-locked, with
great antique hinges of marvellous workmanship. With perhaps half a dozen
exceptions the lid of each had yielded to the charge of explosive placed
beneath it, while in many cases the whole side of the casket had been
blown completely out, injuring or destroying some of its valuable
contents. Jewellery and gems, set and unset, had been strewn about and
trodden into the dust by hurrying feet, and a few that I recognized at
once as of fabulous va