United States or Jamaica ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Let us go at once and get the affair over as soon as possible," said Sir Reginald, turning away to enter the pilot-house and assume the control of the ship during the proposed movement of her to the village. "We are now about to move to M'Bongwele's palace and bring him to trial for his many misdeeds," explained von Schalckenberg to Lobelalatutu. "You will remain with us until the trial is over."
Siswani, however, the present victim, was not undergoing any experimental form of torture of M'Bongwele's own invention; he was simply suffering a form of death that, from the protracted and exquisitely excruciating character of its agonies, enjoys a very wide popularity among African savages.
The picture was allowed to remain clear, brilliant, and distinct for some ten minutes, then the radiant disc rapidly faded until it vanished altogether, and nothing remained but the red glimmer of the smouldering fire. A heavy sigh issued from M'Bongwele's breast, and he rose to his feet. "It is enough," he said. "Let me go home."
"Then," demanded Dick, "do I understand that under Lobelalatutu's rule you have not a sufficiency to meet all your wants?" "I have a sufficiency, yes," answered Sekosini; "but I would have much more than that. I would have wealth, great wealth, and, above all, power, the power that the witch doctors wielded in M'Bongwele's time.
Then he drew from his pocket a small crimson silk rosette, and, placing it in M'Bongwele's hand, said: "I will attach this to any part of my dress you choose to point out; then order one of your archers to shoot an arrow at it, and observe the result." The king took the rosette in his hand, examined it carefully, and passed it round among his suite for inspection.
Another moment and a loud ejaculation of astonishment burst from the savage spectators, for, with another sudden brightening of the luminous disc there appeared the phantom presentment of M'Bongwele's troops drawn up as they had appeared a couple of hours before, when the king had first boarded the Flying Fish So clear and vivid was the representation that it met with instant recognition, amid loud murmurs of amazement from the beholders; the king being quite as strongly moved as any of his subjects.
Meanwhile Seketulo, the chief in command of king M'Bongwele's household cavalry, returned to the village in due course, and lost no time in dismissing his men, chuckling to himself as he reflected that, after all, he had beaten his monarch in the race homeward.
Then he turned to those who were within the palace, and bade them bring forth Seketulo; and when this was done, lo, it was but Seketulo's body that they brought forth, his heart having been split in twain by M'Bongwele's broad-bladed war spear.
He ordered a number of M'Bongwele's warriors to build a large fire, not very far from the ship, and when this was well alight, and throwing out a dense cloud of smoke, our friend von Schalckenberg used the smoke as a magic-lantern screen, upon which he projected two pictures, the first showing M'Bongwele himself and his warriors at the moment when they halted opposite the ship upon their arrival from his village earlier on in the afternoon photographed by Mildmay and developed and printed during our trip out to sea and the second, a coloured slide, showing a review of a number of our own British troops.
Everyone who is going much among savages ought to include a lantern and an assortment of good startling slides in his outfit if possible." "But how did you get the first of your two slides? That was surely a representation of M'Bongwele's own people." "Certainly. And our friend Mildmay very cleverly secured it with a camera which I set up and prepared for him in the pilot-house.
Word Of The Day