n hour later Lobelalatutu, having summoned his chiefs, sat upon
his throne in the centre of the Great Place before his palace, with Dick
beside him, and his bodyguard of some five hundred warriors, fully
armed, arranged in a wide circle round him. Then the chiefs began to
arrive, singly, or in twos or threes, until all were present; and as
each arrived he was admitted to the interior of the circle of guards,
where he squatted on his haunches before the king, the entire assemblage
of chiefs, some thirty in number, forming themselves into an arc of a
circle at a distance of about twenty feet from the throne. When at
length it had been ascertained that every chief except the sick 'Nkuni
was present, the king turned to Dick and said:

"Now, O Healer! by the power of your magic, cause Sekosini, the chief
witch doctor, to come hither, I pray you."

At the king's words there occurred an uneasy movement among the
assembled chiefs, some of whom exchanged quick, furtive glances of
apprehension, which were duly noted by Dick and the king. The latter
smiled somewhat sardonically and, beckoning the chief of his bodyguard
toward him, murmured certain instructions in his ear. Meanwhile Dick,
concentrating his thoughts upon Sekosini, mentally commanded him at once
to present himself before the king in the Great Place. A quarter of an
hour of somewhat painful tension followed, during which no word was
spoken by any one of those who were hemmed in by the circle of armed
guards, and then the chief witch doctor was seen approaching. He
entered the circle of the guards, through a gap which was opened to give
him passage--and which instantly closed again behind him--did _bonga_
(homage) to the king, and then stood, silent and serene, about midway
between the king and the line of sitting chiefs. His aspect of perfect
serenity, due to the fact that he was still completely under Dick's
hypnotic influence, seemed to reassure certain of the assembled chiefs,
whose faces had shown signs of anxiety; but the fact that The Healer,
sitting there silent and impassive beside the king, had been able to
summon Sekosini from a distance, and compel his presence, had been duly
noted, and hands were placed over mouths, and low murmurs of "_Au!
'mtagati; 'mkulu 'mtagati_" (a wizard; a great wizard) ran round the
assembly.

The king himself was by no means unimpressed by this evidence of Dick's
wonderful power. He decided that it was a thing to be rem