circumstances of barbarity, at the rate of several a day, and
whose tortured shrieks it was impossible to keep out of their ears,
several of the Inswani were taken out and put to death, as they were
informed, by order of the King. This young savage seemed positively to
wallow in blood and torture; yet, so far from the feet undermining the
loyalty of his subjects, it seemed rather to cement their adherence.
But, though cruel and bloodthirsty, he was of unimpeachable courage, and
more than one tale of heroic valour did Kumbelwa narrate in which the
young King was the central figure.

At times, when they were taking their walks abroad, a sudden hubbub, and
a roaring crowd on the move, would denote that his Majesty was out, and
his faithful subjects were hailing his progress. But they deemed it
expedient to keep out of the way of such demonstrations.

"Hallo!" cried Haviland, one hot morning, as they were lying in their
hut. "Here, quick, give us that box! Why, that's the most whacking big
scorpion I've ever seen, even here."

In a trice the great crawling venomous brute was, like themselves, a
prisoner, savagely walking round and round, and wondering what had
happened.

"It'll be a job to get him into the lethal jar, Oakley! If we use the
tongs on him we're sure to damage his legs, like we did that mammoth
tarantula that was taking a stroll over you the other night. Here, hold
the box a minute."

So for upwards of a quarter of an hour, these two enthusiastic
collectors were busily at work circumventing the ugly venomous insect.
They had forgotten their troubles; the Inswani, the king, Mushad,
everything.

"Well done!" cried Haviland. "We've got him at last. What a specimen!
Poor old Ahern, how he would have enjoyed this! If only he hadn't been
in such a hurry--. Get out of the way, Kumbelwa. You're in our light,"
he added, without looking up, as a shadow darkened the door. With a
smothered grunt this was removed. Then, when at last they did look up,
the figure squatted on the ground was not that of Kumbelwa at all. It
was Dumaliso.

They exchanged greetings, not very cordially on either side. They were
not particularly fond of the chief, whom Oakley defined as "a cruel
brute, who'd cut our throats as soon as look at us, if he dared."
Moreover, they were vexed that he should appear on the scene when he
did, for they had received more than one hint from Kumbelwa that the
Inswani looked with considerab