CHAPTER XI.

The King of the Maleggas took his royal brother by the hand, and led him towards an immense baobab, underneath which he is in the habit of holding his receptions and administering justice. A space of about twenty square yards is carpeted with ox hides, and trunks of trees, covered with hyæna, lion, and leopard skins, serve for the throne and its surrounding seats.

Whilst we lingered behind the two chiefs, and in the midst of their respective escorts, I examined Kadjoro. He is a man about thirty years of age, tall and robust. His manner is a mixture of the rustic and the warrior. His features are regular and agreeable; his eyes black, fine and full of expression; his hair, or, to describe it more correctly, his mane is parted in the middle of his forehead, and falls behind his ears in numerous twists, reaching to the shoulders. Feathers of the ostrich, eagle and vulture are stuck at intervals in this thick wool. In his left hand he holds a shield of buffalo hide, in his right a club, and, after the manner of his tribe, a portion of his body is covered with a pair of very ample breeches. Looking only at his features, his physiognomy generally, and his olive complexion, one might take him for a European; his mane, ornaments, and tattoo-marks make him a savage, "but a very handsome savage," affirms Miss Poles, who has already, from behind her blue spectacles, made her little observations, and gives us the benefit of them.

"Take care," said de Morin to me in a whisper, "she is quite capable of falling in love with Kadjoro, and indulging in some fresh folly."

I promised my friend that I would watch over her.

The King has not yet taken his seat; he converses with his guest, and is questioning him, undoubtedly about us, for he frequently looks in our direction, a proceeding which puts Miss Poles in a great state of excitement, she being already persuaded that the new monarch is noticing and admiring her.

"How far superior he is to Munza!" she repeats, incessantly.

Suddenly, Kadjoro, having, doubtless, heard all about us from his royal friend, leaves him abruptly, comes to where we are standing, shakes hands with us three, bows to our two companions, just as we Europeans should do, and, by a wave of his hand, invites us to follow him.

"He is charming," whispers Delange; "this savage has the manners of a _grand seigneur_."

Reminding him that Kadjoro must by this time know of our connection with M. de Guéran, we follow the King and set foot on the carpet of skins.

Our entrance into the reserved enclosure is made to the accompaniment of Malegga music. A score of musicians, placed at a convenient distance, blow to the full extent of their lungs into elephants' tusks shaped like shells, at the same time keeping in perpetual motion their arms and legs, on which, at the wrists, knees, and ankles, are hung small iron bells. Behind these musicians stand the members of the royal Court, eager to see us; everybody is standing on tip-toe, and some high dignitaries, forgetful of the proprieties, even get on their neighbours' backs. But no one dares penetrate into the enclosure reserved for the King and his guests. Not a single woman is to be seen anywhere; it appears that, amongst the Maleggas, they are excluded from all public meetings.

At a sign from Kadjoro, the orchestra is silent. We take our places on the seats pointed out to us by the King, and the interview, to which we have for so long looked forward, commences.

"Welcome to my kingdom!" were the first words of Kadjoro. "You are the friends of my ally, the King of the Monbuttoos. That is sufficient for me, and I do not need any explanation of your plans."

"We, on the contrary," said de Morin, at once, "wish to inform you of those plans. We can have no secrets from one who has behaved in so generous and hospitable a manner towards us ever since we have been in his dominions."

"Speak," replied the King, "and I will endeavour to be of service to you."

"We quite believe you. To see you and hear you is to believe in your sincerity."

De Morin had expressed the opinion of all of us. At first sight we were drawn towards this savage, so superior to all those whom we had seen, even to the King of the Monbuttoos himself.

"Whatever you do, do not wound our touchy Munza by being too complimentary to his ally," said I to de Morin.

"Make your mind easy," replied my friend. "His turn will come."

Turning again towards Kadjoro, he resumed, aloud—

"We are in search of a white man, our father. He stayed for some time in this country, and we are come to you for news of him."

"Your father! The white man was your father?"

De Morin was fully alive to all the dangers of the situation, but, resolute as ever, he did not even take the trouble to enter into any explanation, lest by so doing he should arouse the suspicions of Munza, who was drinking in every word of the conversation. He hoped also, for reasons already explained, that the title of father, bestowed upon M. de Guéran, would pass unnoticed, or that in any case Kadjoro would not attach any importance to it.

He was not mistaken. The King evidently recalled to his mind the worn features of M. de Guéran, his long beard, his flowing locks, his countenance seared by severe illness, and, glancing at Madame de Guéran, young, charming, and with her colour heightened by the excitement under which she was labouring, he acknowledged to himself that she might well be the stranger's daughter.

Without, however, giving him time to utter a word, which might have been dangerous for us, de Morin went on to say—

"We have made a long and perilous journey to obtain an interview with you. We beg you, therefore, to tell us all you know about him who was your guest."

"Yes, he was both my guest and my friend," said the Malegga chief, in a tone almost of affection.

"Where is he?" asked de Morin, quickly. "Can he still be in your dominions?"

"No, no," said the King, sadly; "he left me long ago."

We all shared in the emotion now exhibited by Madame de Guéran. She had risen from her seat, and pale and trembling, but determined to know all as soon as possible, she herself questioned the African monarch through the medium of Nassar.

These questions were not, perhaps, put in the order in which I now write them, but the interview, so interesting to all of us, not excepting Munza, is to this day so vividly impressed on my memory, that I feel sure I do not forget a single incident, nor err, either as to the sense of the questions, or the answers to them, which were given without the slightest hesitation, and with the utmost candour.

"Is he who was your guest still living?" asked Madame de Guéran, abruptly.

"I do not know," was the reply. "Since the day he crossed my frontier, I have had no news of him."

"When did he leave you?"

Kadjoro made a calculation, and entered into some explanations with Nassar, from which we gathered that scarcely six months had elapsed since the departure of M. de Guéran.

"Which direction did he take on leaving you?"

"Towards the south, in the direction of the mountains."

"What country would he enter on crossing your frontier?"

"Ulindi."

"Is it large?"

"Yes; it extends as far as the mountains."

"What is the name of the King who rules over it?"

"It is not a King; it is a Queen—Queen Walinda, who has given her name to her kingdom and her subjects. They are called Walindis."

Nassar informed us that in Africa, when the name of a country begins with _U_, that of the inhabitants commences with _Wa_.

"Do you think that this Queen has allowed our father to continue his journey?"

"No, I do not think so. She does not even allow her neighbours, or her allies like ourselves, to enter her kingdom."

"Nevertheless, from what you say, our father appears to have entered it?"

"Yes, against all my advice. But he would be made prisoner at once."

"You are sure of that?"

"It cannot have happened otherwise, for he Has not returned to my dominions."

"There would be no necessity for his returning, if he could succeed in crossing the mountains?"

"He could not cross them. They are the boundary of the earth; it ends there."

Instead of combating this error, de Morin said to the King—

"Then, if our father still lives, we shall find him amongst the Walindis?"

"No, you will never find him. You will be taken prisoners, as he has been, as soon as you set foot in the country."

"We will purchase the right of going through it," said I at once.

Nassar had scarcely time to translate these words before the King demanded an explanation; he could not grasp the meaning of my expression. In the districts where the ivory and slave merchants have not penetrated, the idea of securing a right of way by payment has not entered the minds of the natives; they consider that everybody is free to traverse the uncultivated districts, and, with few exceptions, look upon a visit from a stranger as a compliment. If, in the districts watered by the Nile and on the high road of the caravans, any tribute is exacted, it is simply because the slave merchants, fearing the loss of their prisoners, have adopted the custom of offering presents to the chiefs for the purpose of securing their good-will. For a long time the latter remained in ignorance of the reason why their wishes were thus anticipated, but they have since then taken kindly to the custom, and now display the greatest rapacity towards white men, all of whom they regard indiscriminately as traders in human flesh.

"The Queen of the Walindis," resumed Kadjoro, as soon as he understood what we meant, "will decline your presents, and will not allow you even to get as far as her palace."

"We will get there by force," said de Morin.

"It is evident that you do not know my neighbours," replied the King. "I am strong and powerful, but yet I pay them a tribute to prevent them making war on me."

"Their army, then, is more numerous than yours?"

"No, but the battalions of women of whom it is composed frighten my soldiers."

The King perceived our astonishment, and hastened to give Nassar the following details. At the commencement of his reign, the Walindis suddenly invaded his country on a cattle-stealing expedition. He had defended himself valiantly, and was on the point of gaining a decisive victory, when a numerous force of women, commanded by the Queen in person, appeared on the scene and, in a few moments, routed his whole army. These female warriors, of whose very existence he was ignorant, were young, for the most part lovely, and strong and brave to a degree. They did not waste any time in shooting arrows, or fighting at a distance; they came to close quarters at once, and committed fearful havoc with their steel pikes and long knives. It was impossible to seize them, or even to approach them at all closely; their foreheads, necks, waists, wrists, legs below the thigh, and feet above the ankle, were surrounded with iron rings barbed with sharp points a foot long, which served at once for offensive and defensive weapons. The King added that, whilst fightings they utter most terrifying cries, their eyes flash fire, and they foam at the mouth; they give no quarter, despise making prisoners, and, as soon as they have wounded an enemy, they despatch him. Consequently, these women inspire the Maleggas with unconquerable fear, and it was because of this fear that Kadjoro had come to the conclusion that he had better make a few prudent concessions to his neighbours, and purchase the alliance of their Queen, the lovely and invincible Walinda, as she is called in this Country.

"It seems to me," said de Morin, turning to us, "that in the heart of Africa we have found a second kingdom of Dahomey."

"And it seems to me," whispered Delange in my ear, "that I shall very soon find myself in the presence of my Venus in ebony."