"Therefore," said he, "in order to prevent the stirring up of strife and the incitement to bloodshed, Sekosini, Mapela, Amakosa, and N'Ampata must die. But as to the others I am not so sure. They have conspired against me, it is true; they consented to the slaying of seven of my most trusted chiefs and counsellors; and they would have brought anarchy upon the people; therefore must they also be punished. Yet Ingona, Lambati, Moroosi, and Sekukuni have all been my friends; they have aided me with valuable counsel when I have been confronted with problems of great difficulty and danger; and never until now have they shown the least sign of disloyalty. They are valuable servants whom it would be most difficult if not altogether impossible to replace; and, above all, I feel almost certain that in their hearts they are not disloyal, but that, as Ingona said, they have been bewitched and led astray by the craft of Sekosini. I think that, the head Witch Doctor and his evil influence removed, they would henceforward be, as they were aforetime, true, loyal subjects; and I would not destroy them if they may otherwise be safely dealt with. What does your wisdom advise in their case, O Healer?" It was a very difficult and delicate question upon which to advise, and Dick never, perhaps, felt more heavily handicapped by his youth and inexperience than he did at that moment; yet it was evident that this savage king, himself at a loss how to deal with the problem, was practically leaving the decision as to the fate of those four men in his hands, and that, whatever his advice might be, it would be followed. For several minutes he anxiously pondered upon the situation, and then light and inspiration suddenly came to him. Why should he not again employ his marvellous hypnotic powers to solve the problem? He had already done so with perfect success in the case of Sekosini; why not in that of these others? He could place them under his influence and then compel them to disclose the innermost secrets of their hearts, thus determining beyond a doubt exactly how deep their feeling of disloyalty went and whether it went too deep to be capable of being uprooted and replaced by one of absolute fidelity in the future. This point determined, he would be able to advise with absolute confidence, or, better still, enable the king to decide for himself. Yes, that was undoubtedly the best thing to be done, and he turned to Lobelalatutu with a sigh of relief. "Listen, O Great One!" he said. "You ask for my advice, and now I am ready to give it. Let the four chiefs, Ingona, Lambati, Moroosi, and Sekukuni, be brought hither in charge of the guards which you have placed over them; then will I lay my magic upon them so that they shall speak only the plain, simple truth, even as Sekosini spoke it just now to his own condemnation; and thus shall ye be able to judge exactly how far each man may be trusted in the future. Is my advice good and acceptable?"