the king declared that their magic was inferior to that of the white man, and that they were useless in comparison with him. Ned then set fire with the glass to a piece of canvas rubbed with gunpowder; this was handed from one to the other with admiration, amid general exclamations of delight and astonishment.

"What are they saying, Tim ?" asked Ned.

"Dis black niggers stoopid people, Massa Ned," replied Tim ; dey say de white man got de fire in one eye and de water in de odder eye, so he make 'em fire when he like, and rain when he please. Dat's all right!" continued Tim. give 'em little 'stonishment, dat's de right trick 'xactly. Now de black king make Massa Ned a big man."

"Tim knows de niggers;

Perfectly satisfied with the treasure he had gained in Ned, the king lost no time in collecting the one hundred and fifty slaves that he had agreed to supply to the negro dealer; he at once gave an order that a certain refractory village in the neighborhood should be pillaged, and the inhabitants sold as slaves. Accordingly, at about 3 A.M. on the following morning, a party of a thousand men started by moonlight for the purpose of surprising the village before the people should awake. This brutal order was given because the headman of the village had refused to pay the customary tribute. A little before daybreak Ned perceived the flames of the burning huts, as the fire destroyed the inflammable constructions of thatch and wood, at a distance of about four miles from the principal town. The king was standing in his own court-yard enjoying the scene of destruction, and in a few hours his army returned, having killed many of the men, and captured several hundred women and children of both sexes. These unfortunate people were secured in a living chain, tied neck to neck by thongs of hide; others were fastened by the necks in forked sticks,

similar to those in which Ned and Tim had been confined when first taken by the slave-gang. Some of the young girls were crying bitterly; there were mothers with infants in their arms, others who had lost their children in the massacre, and many children who had seen their parents ruthlessly speared before their eyes. The prisoners were now ranged in several rows in the large inclosure that formed the court, after which they were inspected by the negro slave-dealer, who selected one hundred and fifty according to the bargain he had made with the king; these were taken without the slightest regard to the relationship of the individuals. An infant was torn from the arms of a pretty young mother, while she was led away with the lot selected for transportation, without the smallest attention to her cries of agony at the separation from her child. Children of twelve and fourteen were taken sobbing bitterly from their parents, and the whip of hippopotamus hide descended cruelly upon their naked shoulders when they struggled to remain with their mothers, from whom they were torn. At length the requisite number was complete, and the band of slave-dealers that had brought Ned to the country now commenced their return march, with one hundred and fifty slaves to supply other black dealers, who would conduct them to the Portuguese possessions on the coast near Zanzibar.

As they disappeared from the town the remaining slaves were distributed by the king among a number of his people, who were allowed to have the use of them provided that they agreed to restore them or others in their stead whenever they might be required. There were many heartrending scenes as they saw their relatives disappear while they were themselves divided and apportioned to strangers. Ned looked on in horror at the infamous traffic, while it recalled to Tim's recollection the scene of his first day of slavery.

"So de nigger eat de nigger!" exclaimed Tim, philosophically. "Bad fellers dese black chaps," he continued; "where 'spect to go to? eh? God shut his eye, let de debbel catch de nigger. Pray God take care of Tim."

This theological sentiment closed the melancholy scene.

CHAPTER XVI.

EVERAL months passed arvey, was guttered in. EVERAL months passed away, and with them the rainy

SEV

The

sun now resumed its sway, the clouds had given place to a spotless sky, and the vivid green gradually faded, and the country parched into a bright yellow; the smaller streams. all dried up, and even the great lake sank a few feet below the former level.

It was now the season for hunting, and parties were organized for killing elephants and hippopotami, the flesh of which was the principal food of the people; this was dried in strips, and then hung up in the smoke of their cabins in sufficient quantities to last for many months.

The harvest of meat was considered almost as important as that of corn; therefore while a portion of the men and the whole of the women were engaged in the cultivation of their fields, those who were most active and courageous formed bands of hunters and provided a supply of flesh. To be distinguished for exploits in the hunting-grounds was considered to be even more meritorious than acts of valor on the field of battle, and as Ned had gained a great reputation by the death of the lion he was expected to perform prodigies in the chase of wild animals. Next to the king he was already the greatest man in the country, as his supposed power in magic had given him an extraordinary influence. Among his medicines he had a large supply of calomel and emetic tartar: the effect of these drugs upon the sick had gained him much repute, and his success as a physician was

also attributed to sorcery. Although Ned was no charlatan, he found it impossible to stem the tide of public opinion, and he was forced to allow the natives to indulge in their superstitions. There was, however, much danger inseparable from his exalted position. The king was an ignorant savage, and although he believed thoroughly in magic, his confidence in the individual sorcerer depended upon success, and the law of the country determined that three successive failures should be punished by the death of the rain-maker or magician. To Ned's horror and disgust two of the king's sorcerers had already been put to death in his presence for having repeatedly failed in their prophecies of success to the hunting-parties. The fault was considered to exist in a lying spirit in the inside of the sorcerer: the unfortunate wretch was therefore put to death before all the people, by being ripped open with a sharp knife, when his vital organs were carefully examined by other sorcerers, who pretended to discover the traces of the evil spirit.

It was not long before Ned was requested by the King to foretell the result of a hunting expedition that was about to start upon a large scale. With the horrible fate of the unlucky prophets before him, Ned declared, with much tact, that great success would attend the hunting-party should he and Tim accompany the hunters. It was accordingly arranged that he should take the entire command.

At daybreak on the following morning Ned, accompanied by Tim and Nero with fifty picked men, started upon their expedition in five large canoes, formed from the straight stems of gigantic trees.

The sun had just risen when the little fleet paddled rapidly along the shore; the men were in the highest spirits, as Ned's presence among them inspired a confidence of success. For ten hours they paddled without ceasing, merely halting to relieve each other at the oars, and Ned reckoned