wo days has
he thus lain."

"And how long does the sickness usually last?" asked Dick, his
professional instincts being at once aroused.

"They usually die on the seventh day after the sickness declares
itself," answered the king.

"Good!" responded Dick. "Then your friend is in no immediate danger;
and to-morrow, when we present ourselves before you with our gifts, I
will see him, and it may be that I shall be able to save his life. Have
you aught further to tell us?"

"No," answered the king. "I have now told all. But I fear that all
these things portend evil to me, and, perchance, the end of my reign and
life. It is for this reason that I have visited you to-night in secret;
for I hoped that if a conspiracy is growing up against me you might be
able to name the conpirators to me. That is all the help I ask," he
finished grimly.

"Yes," answered Dick; "I have no doubt that if we could ascertain the
identity of the conspirators--if any--you could be safely trusted to do
the rest. Well, we will see what can be done to help you. Must you
really go? Well, good night! Take care of yourself; or, in other
words, _hamba gahli_."

As the tall, dark figure of Lobelalatutu strode away down the slight
slope, upon the summit of which the tent was pitched, and melted into
the shadows, Grosvenor turned to his companion, who had now re-seated
himself, and said:

"It seems to me, friend Dick, that we have arrived upon the scene at the
psychological moment--eh, what? If our friend Lobelalatutu's suspicions
have any better foundation than his own imagination, it strikes me that
we are on the eve of exciting times. What say you?"

"I say yes to that, most emphatically," responded Dick. "For, don't
make any mistake, Phil, the king's imagination is not running away with
him; the death of six chiefs in quick succession, followed by the
serious illness of a seventh, is something more than mere coincidence;
it means conspiracy, followed by ghastly, blood-curdling tragedy--unless
we can contrive by some means to discover the identity of the
conspirators in time. As for those unfortunate chiefs, I have not the
slightest doubt that they have been removed by poison--some secret and
comparatively slow but deadly poison, and I intend to make it my first
business to discover what that poison is, and its antidote--if I can.
The chances are, however, that I shall fail, for almost all the savage
peoples possess a great deal mor