rgone himself before he had been considered sufficiently
adept to be considered a finished flier, smiled at the conceit of
the ignorant African who was already demanding that he be permitted
to make a flight alone.

"If it was not for losing the machine," the Englishman explained to
the girl, "I'd let the bounder take it up and break his fool neck
as he would do inside of two minutes."

However, he finally persuaded Usanga to bide his time for a few
more days of instruction, but in the suspicious mind of the Negro
there was a growing conviction that the white man's advice was prompted
by some ulterior motive; that it was in the hope of escaping with
the machine himself by night that he refused to admit that Usanga
was entirely capable of handling it alone and therefore in no further
need of help or instruction, and so in the mind of the black there
formed a determination to outwit the white man. The lure of the
twenty-four seductive wives proved in itself a sufficient incentive
and there, too, was added his desire for the white girl whom he
had long since determined to possess.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Usanga lay down to sleep
in the evening of the second day. Constantly, however, the thought
of Naratu and her temper arose to take the keen edge from his pleasant
imaginings. If he could but rid himself of her! The thought having
taken form persisted, but always it was more than outweighed by the
fact that the black sergeant was actually afraid of his woman, so
much afraid of her in fact that he would not have dared to attempt
to put her out of the way unless he could do so secretly while
she slept. However, as one plan after another was conjured by the
strength of his desires, he at last hit upon one which came to him
almost with the force of a blow and brought him sitting upright
among his sleeping companions.

When morning dawned Usanga could scarce wait for an opportunity to
put his scheme into execution, and the moment that he had eaten,
he called several of his warriors aside and talked with them for
some moments.

The Englishman, who usually kept an eye upon his black captor,
saw now that the latter was explaining something in detail to his
warriors, and from his gestures and his manner it was apparent that
he was persuading them to some new plan as well as giving them
instructions as to what they were to do. Several times, too, he
saw the eyes of the Negroes turned upon him and once they fla