"_Au_!" exclaimed the chief, "the king abides in his palace. He comes not forth at the bidding of strangers." "Does he not?" retorted von Schalckenberg. "Yet shall he come forth at my bidding. Go, now, Lobelalatutu; descend the ladder to your people; take as many men as may be needful, and bring forth M'Bongwele, that we, the Four Spirits, may judge him, and punish him for his crimes. Go, and fear not,"--for Lobelalatutu rather hung back, as though somewhat uncertain in regard to the matter of his safety--"you are under our protection; and the man who foolishly dares to raise hand against you incurs our displeasure, and will instantly fall dead!" Thus assured, Lobelalatutu hesitated no longer, but, calling to certain friends of his to support him, boldly descended the ladder--which Mildmay took the precaution to draw up instantly--and, accompanied by some eight or ten other chiefs, proceeded to push his way through the throng toward the king's palace, while a confused hum and murmur of excited conversation arose from the crowd. Suddenly, the chief who had replied to von Schalckenberg's questions, sprang forward, and raising his right hand, with a sheaf of spears in its grasp, above his head, shouted-- "Warriors of the Makolo, what is this? Why stand ye, silent, before these strangers, as cattle stand before a hungry lion? Who are they, that they dare come hither to dictate to us and our king? Once before have they been here, and--" As though unexpectedly pushed by some one behind, he suddenly fell forward on his face, dead! while von Schalckenberg composedly lowered his rifle from his shoulder. "It had to be done," he explained to his companions, meanwhile keeping his gaze steadily fixed upon the crowd of savages beneath him. "In another second or two those fellows down there would have been divided into two parties, and we should have had a pitched battle raging at our feet, with a loss of hundreds of lives. Evidently, the fellow was one of the king's friends, and can, therefore, very well be spared." "Quite right, Professor," answered Lethbridge. "You forestalled me by a second or two only. If you had not fired, I should have done so, for I saw that the fellow meant mischief." As the chief fell prone before them, the excited crowd of savages became suddenly silent and rigid. Then von Schalckenberg waved his hand toward the motionless figure, and said in solemn and impressive tones-- "So perish those who presume to dispute the will of the Four Spirits! Let no one touch him, but let him lie there as a warning to other rebellious natures--if such, perchance, should be among you."