noon
The great court of the harem , deserted by the troops , had become filled with volumes of dense smoke , showing that fire had broken out somewhere within the palace , and ever and anon explosions of a more or less violent character told us that the hands of the destroyers were actually at work . The sack of the Kasbah was indeed complete . The loot , of which there was an enormous quantity of considerable value , was being removed to a place of safety by a large body of men told off for the purpose . Although Samory was a fugitive , yet the treasures found within his private apartments were of no mean order , and ere noon had passed preparations were being made for its conveyance to Mo , the greater part of the city being already in flames . The fire roared and crackled , choking smoke-clouds obscured the sun , and the heat wafted up was stifling . All opposition to us had long ago ceased , but whenever an Arab was found secreted or a fugitive , he was shot down without mercy . To linger longer in the harem might , I judged , be dangerous on account of the place having been fired , therefore we went together out into the court , and stepping over the mutilated bodies of its beautiful prisoners , entered the chamber where Samory had held his court .