ecret passage, and made his way to the apartment of
Imoinda. Had he found the old king there, he no doubt would have killed
him; but, happily, the lovely maid was alone, and quietly sleeping in
her bed. He softly awakened her, and she trembled with joy and fear at
his boldness. But they had not been long together when a sudden noise
was heard and a band of armed men with spears burst into the room.

"Back!" shouted the young prince, lifting up his battle-axe. "Back, all
of you! Do you not know Oroonoko?"

"Yes," said one of the men. "The king has sent us to take you, dead or
alive."

But when Oroonoko attacked them, they allowed him to fight his way out
of the otan, but tore the maid from his arms and took her to the king.
The old man was blind with rage, and, seizing a spear, he staggered to
his feet, determined to kill her by his own hand. But Imoinda was in no
mood to die. She knew that her lover had fled to his camp, and intended
to return at the head of a large army and rescue her by main force. If
she could only calm the anger of the old king for a few days, all would
be well. So, with the guile of a woman, she flung herself at the king's
feet, protesting in a flood of tears, that Oroonoko had broken into her
room and taken her by force.

"Very well," said the old king, with a cruel look in his eyes, "I will
forgive you. Having received the royal veil, you cannot marry my
grandson. On the other hand, since he has entered your room, you cannot
remain any longer in the otan. You must be sent out of the country."

And early the next morning some of his servants were commanded to dress
her so that she could not be recognised, and then she was carried down
to the shore and sold to the captain of a slave ship.

The king did not dare to tell his grandson that he had sold Imoinda as a
slave, for the Coromantiens justly reckon slavery as something worse
than death; so he sent a messenger to say that she was dead. At first,
Oroonoko was minded to attack his grandfather, but better feelings
prevailed; and he led his army against a hostile nation, resolved to
perish on the battlefield. So desperate was his courage that he defeated
his far more numerous foes, and took a great multitude of them captives.
Many of these he sold to the captain of a slave-ship, then lying off
Coromantien. When the bargain was concluded, the captain invited the
prince and all his attendants to a banquet on board his ship, and so
plied them wit