edged tools. He did not know what to
make of this persistent immobility; it was uncanny, sinister,
portentous, almost appalling. He would try again. He _did_ try again,
not once but nearly a dozen times, varying the form of words, more or
less, every time; and, of course, with the same ill success. At length,
in chagrin and disgust, he gave up the attempt to move the ship, and
turned his attention to an examination of her interior. He advanced to
the pilot-house, complacently reflecting that here, at least, he could
not possibly be beaten; he had only to walk up to the door and enter.
But here, again, surprise and confusion awaited him; for, after _twice_
making the circuit of the building, he was unable to find a door; there
was no perceptible entrance anywhere excepting the circular windows,
which, however, were all open. Summoning his followers to his
assistance, he made them give him a "back;" and, scrambling up on their
shoulders, he at length contrived to raise himself to the level of these
openings and to look in. He saw a great many levers, and knobs, and
buttons, and short lengths of insulated wire; in fact, he got a glimpse
of pretty nearly all the apparatus contained in the pilothouse; but that
did not help him in the least, for he had not the most remote idea of
what all these things were for; and when he essayed an entrance by one
of the windows he was again foiled; it was much too small. At length,
after a great deal of ineffectual wriggling and struggling--which
occasioned serious inconvenience and anxiety to the human supports who
were with the utmost difficulty maintaining a state of very unstable
equilibrium beneath his feet--his patience completely failed him, and,
in a fit of childish anger and spite, he sent a series of truly blood-
curdling yells echoing into the interior of the pilot-house. These
cries were of course distinctly heard by George and the _chef_, but
(acting upon a concise code of instructions furnished to them when they
were first engaged for the voyage, and which provided for almost every
conceivable emergency), neither of these individuals condescended to
take any notice of them. Having thus given vent to a portion of his
spleen, king M'Bongwele, paying but scanty attention to the comfort or
dignity of his supporters, scrambled down from his elevated position to
the deck, and sat down to reflect upon the next steps to be taken. He
would gladly now have left the ship and ma