Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/419

 ROYAL OBSEQUIES, 391 nieans of getting at it, except the hole underneath could ht made large enough to admit the animars head. Dick determined to try and scrape away the soîl at the threshold, and commenced digging with his nails. But he had scarcely set himself to his task when loud barkings, other than Dingo's, were heard in the distance. The faithfui créature had been scented out by the native dogs, and instinct dictatêd an immédiate flight. Alarm had evidently been taken, as several gun-shots were fired ; the havildar half roused himself from his slumber, and Dick was fain to roll himself once more into his corner, there to await the dawn of the day which was intended to be his last Throughout that day, the grave-digging was carrîed on wîth unremitted activity. A large number of the natives, under the superintendence of the qucen's prime minister, werê set to work, and according to the decree of Moena, who seemed resolved to continue the rigorous sway of her departed husband, were bound, under penalty of mutilation, to accomplish their task within the proscribed time. As soon as the stream had been diverted înto its tempo- rary channel, there was hollowed out in the dry river bed a pit, fifty feet long, ten feet wide, and ten feet deep. This, towards the close of the day, was lined throughout with living ,women, selected from Moené Loonga's slaves ; in ordinary cases it would hâve been their fate to be buricd alive beside their master ; but in récognition of his miraculous dcath it was ordained that theyshouldbedrowned beside his rcmains.^ Generally, the royal corpsc is arraycd in its richest vcst- ments before being consigned to the tomb, but in this case, when the remains consisted only of a few charred bones, another plan was adoptcd. An image of the king, perhaps rather flattèring to the original, was made of wicker-work ; inside this were placed the fragments of bones and skin, and the effigy itself was then arrayed in the robes of statc, which, as already mentioned, were not of a vcry costly description. ^ The horrible hecatombs that commemorate the dcath of any powerfui chief In Central Africa defy ail description. Cameron relates that more thnn a Inindred victims "were sacrificed at the obsequies of the father of the King of