te the elevations, fix the
courses of the rivers and their affluents, and determine the
positions of the towns and villages! There would then be no huge
blanks on the map of Africa, no dotted lines, no vague designations
which are the despair of cartographers.

In the morning of the 11th the "Albatross" crossed the mountains of
northern Guinea, between the Sudan and the gulf which bears their
name. On the horizon was the confused outline of the Kong mountains
in the kingdom of Dahomey.

Since the departure from Timbuktu Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans
noticed that the course had been due south. If that direction was
persisted in they would cross the equator in six more degrees. The
"Albatross" would then abandon the continents and fly not over the
Bering Sea, or the Caspian Sea, or the North Sea, or the
Mediterranean, but over the Atlantic Ocean.

This look-out was not particularly pleasing to the two friends, whose
chances of escape had sunk to below zero. But the "Albatross" had
slackened speed as though hesitating to leave Africa behind. Was
Robur thinking of going back? No; but his attention had been
particularly attracted to the country which he was then crossing.

We know--and he knew--that the kingdom of Dahomey is one of the
most powerful on the West Coast of Africa. Strong enough to hold its
own with its neighbor Ashantee, its area is somewhat small, being
contained within three hundred and sixty leagues from north to south,
and one hundred and eighty from east to west. But its population
numbers some seven or eight hundred thousand, including the
neighboring independent territories of Whydah and Ardrah.

If Dahomey is not a large country, it is often talked about. It is
celebrated for the frightful cruelties which signalize its annual
festivals, and by its human sacrifices--fearful hecatombs intended
to honor the sovereign it has lost and the sovereign who has
succeeded him. It is even a matter of politeness when the King of
Dahomey receives a visit from some high personage or some foreign
ambassador to give him a surprise present of a dozen heads, cut off
in his honor by the minister of justice, the "minghan," who is
wonderfully skillful in that branch of his duties.

When the "Albatross" came flying over Dahomey, the old King Bahadou
had just died, and the whole population was proceeding to the
enthronization of his successor. Hence there was great agitation all
over the country, and it did not escape R