he part of spokesman. "We have with us a man
who speaks the Makolo tongue, and whose language we speak; therefore we
communicate with your people through him."

"Good!" exclaimed the king, in accents of extraordinary satisfaction;
"it is very good. Go now in peace, O white men! Ye are my friends, and
no harm shall befall ye while ye stay in the country of the Makolo; I
the king say it. And it may be, O healer of sicknesses! that I can help
you in the matter of the shining stones that ye crave to possess. See
ye these?" And he pointed to the necklace of ruddy, unpolished stones
that he wore.

Dick stepped forward to look closer at the stones, and finally took the
loop of the necklace into his hands. At first sight the stones appeared
to be no more than ordinary red pebbles, about the size of a plover's
egg, or perhaps a little larger, the only peculiarity being that they
were exactly alike in colour, and that they all emitted a rich, ruddy
light. For a minute or two Dick stood carefully examining the stones;
and as he did so a faint, elusive memory came to him in connection with
them. Then suddenly the memory became clear and, carefully suppressing
his excitement, he turned to Grosvenor and said, in quite an ordinary
tone of voice:

"Just come and have a look at these stones, Phil, but be careful not to
betray anything in the nature of astonishment or admiration. Do you
remember reading that those four chaps in the _Flying-Fish_ accidentally
stumbled upon, first, the king's ruby necklace, and then, through it, a
ruby mine? Well, this is undoubtedly the necklace; and our friend here
seems to hint that he is willing to show us the spot where similar
stones may be found."

"Looks like it, certainly," answered Grosvenor in carefully modulated,
matter-of-fact tones. "Jolly fine stones, aren't they? If you can
contrive to take home a sackful of those stones, old man, you need no
longer fear money troubles, eh? What?"

"A sackful!" ejaculated Dick, with a laugh. "A peck of them will
completely satisfy me, my boy." Then, turning to Lobelalatutu, who was
keenly watching them both, he said:

"These stones, O King! are very good and of some value in my country,
though worthless here. Know you where they are to be found?"

"I know," answered the king; "and it may be that I will show you the
place; I cannot yet say, but I will consider the matter. I have given
instructions as to the place where your wagon sh