Delcorte and Taylor were now in mis-stream, coming towardus, and I called to them to keep aloof until I knew whetherthe intentions of my captors were friendly or otherwise. Mygood men wanted to come on and annihilate the blacks. Butthere were upward of a hundred of the latter, all wellarmed, and so I commanded Delcarte to keep out of harm'sway, and stay where he was till I needed him.

A young officer called and beckoned to them. But theyrefused to come, and so he gave orders that resulted in myhands being secured at my back, after which the companymarched away, straight toward the east.

I noticed that the men wore spurs, which seemed strange tome. But when, late in the afternoon, we arrived at theirencampment, I discovered that my captors were cavalrymen.

In the center of a plain stood a log fort, with a block-house at each of its four corners. As we approached, I sawa herd of cavalry horses grazing under guard outside thewalls of the post. They were small, stocky horses, but thetelltale saddle galls proclaimed their calling. The flagflying from a tall staff inside the palisade was one which Ihad never before seen nor heard of.

We marched directly into the compound, where the company wasdismissed, with the exception of a guard of four privates,who escorted me in the wake of the young officer. Thelatter led us across a small parade ground, where a batteryof light field guns was parked, and toward a log building,in front of which rose the flagstaff.

I was escorted within the building into the presence of anold negro, a fine looking man, with a dignified and militarybearing. He was a colonel, I was to learn later, and to himI owe the very humane treatment that was accorded me while Iremained his prisoner.

He listened to the report of his junior, and then turned toquestion me, but with no better results than the former hadaccomplished. Then he summoned an orderly, and gave someinstructions. The soldier saluted, and left the room,returning in about five minutes with a hairy old white man--just such a savage, primeval-looking fellow as I haddiscovered in the woods the day that Snider had disappearedwith the launch.

The colonel evidently expected to use the fellow asinterpreter, but when the savage addressed me it was in alanguage as foreign to me as was that of the blacks. Atlast the old officer gave it up, and, shaking his head, gaveinstructions for my removal.

From his office I was led to a guardhouse, in which I foundabout fifty half-naked whites, clad in the skins of wildbeasts. I tried to converse with them, but not one of themcould understand Pan-American, nor could I make head or tailof their jargon.

For over a month I remained a prisoner there, working frommorning until night at odd jobs about the headquartersbuilding of the commanding officer. The other prisonersworked harder than I did, and I owe my better treatmentsolely to the kindliness and discrimination of the oldcolonel.

What had become of Victory, of Delcarte, of Taylor I couldnot know; nor did it seem likely that I should ever learn.I was most depressed. But I whiled away my time inperforming the duties given me to the best of my ability andattempting to learn the language of my captors.

Who they were or where they came from was a mystery to me.That they were the outpost of some pow-erful black nationseemed likely, yet where the seat of that nation lay I couldnot guess.

They looked upon the whites as their inferiors, and treatedus accordingly. They had a literature of their own, andmany of the men, even the common soldiers, were omnivorousreaders. Every two weeks a dust-covered trooper would trothis jaded mount into the post and deliver a bulging sack ofmail at headquarters. The next day he would be away againupon a fresh horse toward the south, carrying the soldiers'letters to friends in the far off land of mystery fromwhence they all had come.

Troops, sometimes mounted and sometimes afoot, left the postdaily for what I assumed to be patrol duty. I judged thelittle force of a thousand men were detailed here tomaintain the authority of a distant government in aconquered country. Later, I learned that my surmise wascorrect, and this was but one of a great chain of similarposts that dotted the new frontier of the black nation intowhose hands I had fallen.

Slowly I learned their tongue, so that I could understandwhat was said before me, and make myself understood. I hadseen from the first that I was being treated as a slave--that all whites that fell into the hands of the blacks werethus treated.

Almost daily new prisoners were brought in, and about threeweeks after I was brought in to the post a troop of cavalrycame from the south to relieve one of the troops stationedthere. There was great jubilation in the encampment afterthe arrival of the newcomers, old friendships were renewedand new ones made. But the happiest men were those of thetroop that was to be relieved.

The next morning they started away, and as they were forcedupon the parade ground we prisoners were marched from ourquarters and lined up before them. A couple of long chainswere brought, with rings in the links every few feet. Atfirst I could not guess the purpose of these chains. But Iwas soon to learn.

A couple of soldiers snapped the first ring around the neckof a powerful white slave, and one by one the rest of uswere herded to our places, and the work of shackling us neckto neck commenced.

The colonel stood watching the procedure. Presently hiseyes fell upon me, and he spoke to a young officer at hisside. The latter stepped toward me and motioned me tofollow him. I did so, and was led back to the colonel.

By this time I could understand a few words of their strangelanguage, and when the colonel asked me if I would prefer toremain at the post as his body servant, I signified mywillingness as emphatically as possible, for I had seenenough of the brutality of the common soldiers toward theirwhite slaves to have no desire to start out upon a march ofunknown length, chained by the neck, and driven on by thegreat whips that a score of the soldiers carried toaccelerate the speed of their charges.

About three hundred prisoners who had been housed in sixprisons at the post marched out of the gates that morning,toward what fate and what future I could not guess. Neitherhad the poor devils themselves more than the most vagueconception of what lay in store for them, except that theywere going elsewhere to continue in the slavery that theyhad known since their capture by their black conquerors--aslavery that was to continue until death released them.

My position was altered at the post. From working about theheadquarters office, I was transferred to the colonel'sliving quarters. I had greater freedom, and no longer sleptin one of the prisons, but had a little room to myself offthe kitchen of the colonel's log house.

My master was always kind to me, and under him I rapidlylearned the language of my captors, and much concerning themthat had been a mystery to me before. His name was AbuBelik. He was a colonel in the cavalry of Abyssinia, acountry of which I do not remember ever hearing, but whichColonel Belik assured me is the oldest civilized country inthe world.

Colonel Belik was born in Adis Abeba, the capital of theempire, and until recently had been in command of theemperor's palace guard. Jealousy and the ambition andintrigue of another officer had lost him the favor of hisemperor, and he had been detailed to this frontier post as amark of his sovereign's displeasure.

Some fifty years before, the young emperor, Menelek XIV, wasambitious. He knew that a great world lay across the watersfar to the north of his capital. Once he had crossed thedesert and looked out upon the blue sea that was thenorthern boundary of his dominions.

There lay another world to conquer. Menelek busied himselfwith the building of a great fleet, though his people werenot a maritime race. His army crossed into Europe. It metwith little resistance, and for fifty years his soldiers hadbeen pushing his boundaries farther and farther toward thenorth.

"The yellow men from the east and north are contesting ourrights here now," said the colonel, "but we shall win--weshall conquer the world, carrying Christianity to all thebenighted heathen of Europe, and Asia as well."

"You are a Christian people?" I asked.

He looked at me in surprise, nodding his head affirmatively.

"I am a Christian," I said. "My people are the mostpowerful on earth."

He smiled, and shook his head indulgently, as a father to achild who sets up his childish judgment against that of hiselders.

Then I set out to prove my point. I told him of our cities,of our army, of our great navy. He came right back at measking for figures, and when he was done I had to admit thatonly in our navy were we numerically superior.

Menelek XIV is the undisputed ruler of all the continent ofAfrica, of all of ancient Europe except the British Isles,Scandinavia, and eastern Russia, and has large possessionsand prosperous colonies in what once were Arabia and Turkeyin Asia.

He has a standing army of ten million men, and his peoplepossess slaves--white slaves--to the number of ten orfifteen million.

Colonel Belik was much surprised, however, upon his part tolearn of the great nation which lay across the ocean, andwhen he found that I was a naval officer, he was inclined toaccord me even greater consideration than formerly. It wasdifficult for him to believe my assertion that there werebut few blacks in my country, and that these occupied alower social plane than the whites.

Just the reverse is true in Colonel Belik's land. Heconsidered whites inferior beings, creatures of a lowerorder, and assuring me that even the few white freemen ofAbyssinia were never accorded anything approximating aposition of social equality with the blacks. They live inthe poorer districts of the cities, in little whitecolonies, and a black who marries a white is sociallyostracized.

The arms and ammunition of the Abyssinians are greatlyinferior to ours, yet they are tremendously effectiveagainst the ill-armed barbarians of Europe. Their riflesare of a type similar to the magazine rifles of twentiethcentury Pan-America, but carrying only five cartridges inthe magazine, in addition to the one in the chamber. Theyare of extraordinary length, even those of the cavalry, andare of extreme accuracy.

The Abyssinians themselves are a fine looking race of blackmen--tall, muscular, with fine teeth, and regular features,which incline distinctly toward Semitic mold--I refer to thefull-blooded natives of Abyssinia. They are the patricians--the aristocracy. The army is officered almost exclusivelyby them. Among the soldiery a lower type of negropredominates, with thicker lips and broader, flatter noses.These men are recruited, so the colonel told me, from amongthe conquered tribes of Africa. They are good soldiers--brave and loyal. They can read and write, and they areendowed with a self-confidence and pride which, from myreadings of the words of ancient African explorers, musthave been wanting in their earliest progenitors. On thewhole, it is apparent that the black race has thrived farbetter in the past two centuries under men of its own colorthan it had under the domination of whites during allprevious history.

I had been a prisoner at the little frontier post for over amonth, when orders came to Colonel Belik to hasten to theeastern frontier with the major portion of his command,leaving only one troop to garrison the fort. As his bodyservant, I accompanied him mounted upon a fiery littleAbyssinian pony.

We marched rapidly for ten days through the heart of theancient German empire, halting when night found us inproximity to water. Often we passed small posts similar tothat at which the colonel's regiment had been quartered,finding in each instance that only a single company or troopremained for defence, the balance having been withdrawntoward the northeast, in the same direction in which we weremoving.

Naturally, the colonel had not confided to me the nature ofhis orders. But the rapidity of our march and the fact thatall available troops were being hastened toward thenortheast assured me that a matter of vital importance tothe dominion of Menelek XIV in that part of Europe wasthreatening or had already broken.

I could not believe that a simple rising of the savagetribes of whites would necessitate the mobilizing of such aforce as we presently met with converging from the southinto our trail. There were large bodies of cavalry andinfantry, endless streams of artillery wagons and guns, andcountless horse-drawn covered vehicles laden with campequipage, munitions, and provisions.

Here, for the first time, I saw camels, great caravans ofthem, bearing all sorts of heavy burdens, and miles uponmiles of elephants doing similar service. It was a scene ofwondrous and barbaric splendor, for the men and beasts fromthe south were gaily caparisoned in rich colors, in markedcontrast to the gray uniformed forces of the frontier, withwhich I had been familiar.

The rumor reached us that Menelek himself was coming, andthe pitch of excitement to which this announcement raisedthe troops was little short of miraculous--at least, to oneof my race and nationality whose rulers for centuries hadbeen but ordinary men, holding office at the will of thepeople for a few brief years.

As I witnessed it, I could not but speculate upon the moraleffect upon his troops of a sovereign's presence in themidst of battle. All else being equal in war between thetroops of a republic and an empire, could not thisexhilarated mental state, amounting almost to hysteria onthe part of the imperial troops, weigh heavily against thesoldiers of a president? I wonder.

But if the emperor chanced to be absent? What then? Again Iwonder.

On the eleventh day we reached our destination--a walledfrontier city of about twenty thousand. We passed somelakes, and crossed some old canals before entering thegates. Within, beside the frame buildings, were many builtof ancient brick and well-cut stone. These, I was told,were of material taken from the ruins of the ancient citywhich, once, had stood upon the site of the present town.

The name of the town, translated from the Abyssinian, is NewGondar. It stands, I am convinced, upon the ruins ofancient Berlin, the one time capital of the old Germanempire, but except for the old building material used in thenew town there is no sign of the former city.

The day after we arrived, the town was gaily decorated withflags, streamers, gorgeous rugs, and banners, for the rumorhad proved true--the emperor was coming.

Colonel Belik had accorded me the greatest liberty,permitting me to go where I pleased, after my few duties hadbeen performed. As a result of his kindness, I spent muchtime wandering about New Gondar, talking with theinhabitants, and exploring the city of black men.

As I had been given a semi-military uniform which boreinsignia indicating that I was an officer's body servant,even the blacks treated me with a species of respect, thoughI could see by their manner that I was really as the dirtbeneath their feet. They answered my questions civillyenough, but they would not enter into conversation with me.It was from other slaves that I learned the gossip of thecity.

Troops were pouring in from the west and south, and pouringout toward the east. I asked an old slave who was sweepingthe dirt into little piles in the gutters of the streetwhere the soldiers were going. He looked at me in surprise.

"Why, to fight the yellow men, of course," he said. "Theyhave crossed the border, and are marching toward NewGondar."

"Who will win?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows?" he said. "I hopeit will be the yellow men, but Menelek is powerful--it willtake many yellow men to defeat him."

Crowds were gathering along the sidewalks to view theemperor's entry into the city. I took my place among them,although I hate crowds, and I am glad that I did, for Iwitnessed such a spectacle of barbaric splendor as no otherPan-American has ever looked upon.

Down the broad main thoroughfare, which may once have beenthe historic Unter den Linden, came a brilliant cortege. Atthe head rode a regiment of red-coated hussars--enormousmen, black as night. There were troops of riflemen mountedon camels. The emperor rode in a golden howdah upon theback of a huge elephant so covered with rich hangings andembellished with scintillating gems that scarce more thanthe beast's eyes and feet were visible.

Menelek was a rather gross-looking man, well past middleage, but he carried himself with an air of dignity befittingone descended in unbroken line from the Prophet--as was hisclaim.

His eyes were bright but crafty, and his features denotedboth sensuality and cruelness. In his youth he may havebeen a rather fine looking black, but when I saw him hisappearance was revolting--to me, at least.

Following the emperor came regiment after regiment from thevarious branches of the service, among them batteries offield guns mounted on elephants.

In the center of the troops following the imperial elephantmarched a great caravan of slaves. The old street sweeperat my elbow told me that these were the gifts brought infrom the far outlying districts by the commanding officersof the frontier posts. The majority of them were women,destined, I was told, for the harems of the emperor and hisfavorites. It made my old companion clench his fists to seethose poor white women marching past to their horrid fates,and, though I shared his sentiments, I was as powerless toalter their destinies as he.

For a week the troops kept pouring in and out of New Gondar--in, always, from the south and west, but always toward theeast. Each new contingent brought its gifts to the emperor.From the south they brought rugs and ornaments and jewels;from the west, slaves; for the commanding officers of thewestern frontier posts had naught else to bring.

From the number of women they brought, I judged that theyknew the weakness of their imperial master.

And then soldiers commenced coming in from the east, but notwith the gay assurance of those who came from the south andwest--no, these others came in covered wagons, blood-soakedand suffering. They came at first in little parties ofeight or ten, and then they came in fifties, in hundreds,and one day a thousand maimed and dying men were carted intoNew Gondar.

It was then that Menelek XIV became uneasy. For fifty yearshis armies had conquered wherever they had marched. Atfirst he had led them in person, lately his presence withina hundred miles of the battle line had been sufficient forlarge engagements--for minor ones only the knowledge thatthey were fighting for the glory of their sovereign wasnecessary to win victories.

One morning, New Gondar was awakened by the booming ofcannon. It was the first intimation that the townspeoplehad received that the enemy was forcing the imperial troopsback upon the city. Dust covered couriers galloped in fromthe front. Fresh troops hastened from the city, and aboutnoon Menelek rode out surrounded by his staff.

For three days thereafter we could hear the cannonading andthe spitting of the small arms, for the battle line wasscarce two leagues from New Gondar. The city was filledwith wounded. Just outside, soldiers were engaged inthrowing up earthworks. It was evident to the leastenlightened that Menelek expected further reverses.

And then the imperial troops fell back upon these newdefenses, or, rather, they were forced back by the enemy.Shells commenced to fall within the city. Menelek returnedand took up his headquarters in the stone building that wascalled the palace. That night came a lull in thehostilities--a truce had been arranged.

Colonel Belik summoned me about seven o'clock to dress himfor a function at the palace. In the midst of death anddefeat the emperor was about to give a great banquet to hisofficers. I was to accompany my master and wait upon him--I, Jefferson Turck, lieutenant in the Pan-American navy!

In the privacy of the colonel's quarters I had becomeaccustomed to my menial duties, lightened as they were bythe natural kindliness of my master, but the thought ofappearing in public as a common slave revolted every fineinstinct within me. Yet there was nothing for it but toobey.

I cannot, even now, bring myself to a narration of thehumiliation which I experienced that night as I stood behindmy black master in silent servility, now pouring his wine,now cutting up his meats for him, now fanning him with alarge, plumed fan of feathers.

As fond as I had grown of him, I could have thrust a knifeinto him, so keenly did I feel the affront that had been putupon me. But at last the long banquet was concluded. Thetables were removed. The emperor ascended a dais at one endof the room and seated himself upon a throne, and theentertainment commenced. It was only what ancient historymight have led me to expect--musicians, dancing girls,jugglers, and the like.

Near midnight, the master of ceremonies announced that theslave women who had been presented to the emperor since hisarrival in New Gondar would be exhibited, that the royalhost would select such as he wished, after which he wouldpresent the balance of them to his guests. Ah, what royalgenerosity!

A small door at one side of the room opened, and the poorcreatures filed in and were ranged in a long line before thethrone. Their backs were toward me. I saw only anoccasional profile as now and then a bolder spirit amongthem turned to survey the apartment and the gorgeousassemblage of officers in their brilliant dress uniforms.They were profiles of young girls, and pretty, but horrorwas indelibly stamped upon them all. I shuddered as Icontemplated their sad fate, and turned my eyes away.

I heard the master of ceremonies command them to prostratethemselves before the emperor, and the sounds as they wentupon their knees before him, touching their foreheads to thefloor. Then came the official's voice again, in sharp andperemptory command.

"Down, slave!" he cried. "Make obeisance to yoursovereign!"

I looked up, attracted by the tone of the man's voice, tosee a single, straight, slim figure standing erect in thecenter of the line of prostrate girls, her arms foldedacross her breast and little chin in the air. Her back wastoward me--I could not see her face, though I should like tosee the countenance of this savage young lioness, standingthere defiant among that herd of terrified sheep.

"Down! Down!" shouted the master of ceremonies, taking astep toward her and half drawing his sword.

My blood boiled. To stand there, inactive, while a negrostruck down that brave girl of my own race! Instinctively Itook a forward step to place myself in the man's path. Butat the same instant Menelek raised his hand in a gesturethat halted the officer. The emperor seemed interested, butin no way angered at the girl's attitude.

"Let us inquire," he said in a smooth, pleasant voice, "whythis young woman refuses to do homage to her sovereign," andhe put the question himself directly to her.

She answered him in Abyssinian, but brokenly and with anaccent that betrayed how recently she had acquired herslight knowledge of the tongue.

"I go on my knees to no one," she said. "I have nosovereign. I myself am sovereign in my own country."

Menelek, at her words, leaned back in his throne and laugheduproariously. Following his example, which seemed alwaysthe correct procedure, the assembled guests vied with oneanother in an effort to laugh more noisily than the emperor.

The girl but tilted her chin a bit higher in the air--evenher back proclaimed her utter contempt for her captors.Finally Menelek restored quiet by the simple expedient of afrown, whereupon each loyal guest exchanged his mirthfulmien for an emulative scowl.

"And who," asked Menelek, "are you, and by what name is yourcountry called?"

"I am Victory, Queen of Grabritin," replied the girl soquickly and so unexpectedly that I gasped in astonishment.