ractically denuded of troops, and of such
strenuous opposition as that offered we had never dreamed.

But the assertion of the West Coast tribes that the soldiers of the
mystic land of Mo know not fear is certainly true, for never once did
they falter, although the citadel seemed absolutely unassailable by
reason of the fierceness and strength of its defence.

Through the dark night hours we had fought on revengefully, and when dawn
spread the grey glimmering light disclosed the terrible result of the
deadly fray. Dead and wounded lay everywhere, and through the suffocating
smoke the fire of the rifles now seemed yellow where in the darkness it
had appeared blood-red. By some means the Arabs rallied their forces, and
I confess that the sight of the overwhelming numbers opposing us caused
my courage to fail. Swiftly and unrelentlessly the attack upon us was
delivered, and with such vigour that our van fell back, weak and
decimated. Suddenly, without warning, a sound above the din broke upon
our ears, startling us.

The rapid cackling was unmistakable, and involuntarily I burst into a
good old-fashioned English cheer. One of our Maxims had been tardily
brought into play!

Ere a few moments had elapsed the Arabs, having already had a taste of
the terrible effect of the deadly weapon during the recent campaign
against the French and English, stood panic-stricken. Their hesitation
proved fatal. Under the hail of lead they were mowed down, and ere the
remainder could recover from their astonishment a second weapon was
brought into play, riddling their ranks with showers of death-dealing
missiles.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE HAREM SLAVE.

A DOZEN times were we driven back by overwhelming numbers of Arabs, but
as many times we dashed forward again, determined to strike a fatal,
irrisistible blow at the power of the egotistical and fanatical chieftain
whose depredations had earned for him the appelation of "The Pirate of
the Niger." Every nation in Western Africa, save the dwellers in the
mystic land of Mo, existed in daily fear of raids by his ruthless armed
bands, who, travelling rapidly across desert and forest, devastated whole
regions, seizing cattle, laying waste prosperous and fertile districts,
burning towns and villages, and reducing their weaker neighbours to
slavery. Indeed, no bodies of armed men throughout the whole of the great
African continent, including even the Tuaregs, were so reckless in their
atta