About two o'clock in the afternoon, the King sent to request the attendance of de Morin, Delange, and myself, a wish we responded to without delay.
CHAPTER XLII.
When we reached the environs of the palace, and before going to see Munza, we turned to look at the scene of the great fire of the previous evening.
Where once had stood the dwellings of the royal wives, the harem of Munza, now ashes alone were to be seen. All the huts had vanished without leaving a trace behind, and the splendid trees which lately overshadowed them were reduced to powder. A few gigantic trunks only, spared, though scorched, by the flames, stretched out their sturdy, leafless branches to the sky.
The red clay was overspread by a thick carpet of white cinders, like a clearing covered with snow.
The clouds of smoke, which the wind had not been strong enough to disperse, wreathed themselves in every direction and spread like a mist over the landscape, looking more desolate still by contrast with the surrounding country, resplendent with verdure and light.
Was the mad passion of the African king for Madame de Guéran destined to lead to further destruction? Had Munza, through fear of being ridiculous, sworn to be an object of terror?
We found the King in his armoury, distributing arms to a number of soldiers drawn up in the gardens, and giving orders to his officers. He came towards us as soon as he saw us, and charged Nassar to unfold to us his plans. He intended to march, at the full of the moon, in the direction of the district governed by his brother, Degberra, in order to gain information about the white man, who, subsequently to Schweinfurth, had passed through the country, and on this information would depend his future movements.
He also asked us whether the plan was in accordance with our wishes, to which we replied that it was an excellent one, and that we could wish for no better. At the same time, we could not help admiring the determined character of the man, the energy he displayed when any necessity for it arose, and the promptness with which he laid his plans—all rare qualities in a negro.
In fact, the more we study the Monbuttoo people, the more they seem to differ from the negro race. They are a tribe apart, thrown away in Central Africa, and we can well understand the regret expressed by Schweinfurth at not having been able to push his explorations farther into this region.