about three o'clock in the
morning
The enraptured women even prostrated themselves before Mea , who , attired in rosy percale and a few strings of blue beads , as a humble servant of the Mzimu , appeared to them as a being far superior to the common negresses . Nasibu , out of regard for his childish age , was admitted behind the rampart and at once took advantage of the gifts brought for Nell so conscientiously that after an hour his little abdomen resembled an African war drum . Stas , after a brief rest under the ramparts of Luela , started with Kali before sunset at the head of three hundred warriors for Fumba 's boma , for he wanted to attack the Samburus during the night , relying upon the fact that in the darkness the fiery snakes would create a greater sensation . The march from Luela to Mount Boko , on which Fumba was defending himself , counting the rests , required nine hours , so that they appeared before the fortress at about three o'clock in the morning . Stas halted the warriors and , having ordered them to preserve the deepest silence , began to survey the situation . The summit of the mountain on which the defenders had sought refuge was dark ; on the other hand the Samburus burnt a multitude of camp-fires . Their glare illuminated the steep walls of the rock and the gigantic trees growing at its foot .