nger there; and, as he glanced upward
at the gleaming cylindrical sides of the towering structure, it began to
dawn upon him that the task he had undertaken was, after all, not
without its difficulties. Presently, however, a brilliant idea occurred
to him, and, selecting a dozen men, he gave them certain orders which
sent them scurrying off at a gallop. Half an hour later they returned,
dragging behind them two long stout bamboos and a considerable quantity
of tough pliant "monkey-rope" or creeper. With these materials the men,
under M'Bongwele's instructions, proceeded to construct a ladder, which,
when completed, they reared against the side of the ship; and by this
means the king and his fifty chosen warriors ascended and triumphantly
reached the deck.

M'Bongwele now regarded himself as completely successful; he had gained
possession of the wonderful structure; and all that remained was to make
use of it in a similar manner to that of its former owners. He
accordingly advanced pompously to the gangway, and ordered his troopers
to first remove the ladder from the ship's side, and then return to the
village with all speed, adding exultantly that he and those with him on
the "flying horse's back" would be there long before them.

Resolved to give the cavalcade a good start, he watched it disappear in
a cloud of dust among the ruins, and then, assuming his most commanding
attitude and manner, raised his right hand aloft and exclaimed:

"We will now return through the air to the village--keeping as close to
the ground as possible," he added with some trepidation as he nervously
grasped the guard rail in anticipation of the expected movement.

The ship, however, remained motionless. Something was evidently wrong,
but what it might be he could not imagine; surely he had not forgotten
or misunderstood the formula as stated to him by Lualamba? He now most
heartily wished that he had brought that trusty chief with him, and so
provided against all possibility of error; however, the omission could
not be helped, and he would try again, adopting a somewhat different
form of words. This time he stamped rather impatiently on the deck,
exclaiming:

"Take us back to the village, good flying horse, but gently, and not
very far above the ground."

Still no movement. The king began to look puzzled, and to feel as vexed
as he dared, with the consciousness weighing heavily upon him that he
was playing with frightfully keen