A ClUTICAL TIME, 
183 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
A CRITICAL TIME. 
The long threatened crisis now seemed imminent. 
People from Aguogo (belonging to Ashantee Akem) had 
sent word to their relatives in Akem to be on their guard, 
as the king thought of making war with them, and when 
this came to his ears^ it was immediately brought before 
the high council. The chiefs of Ashantee Akem pleaded 
not guilty, and had to drink the odum water, after which 
six of them were condemned to death. Our acquaintance, 
the chief Asamoa, escaped, and was afterwards pardoned 
on paying a heavy fine, but the friendly Mampong was 
kept in irons. When this became known, many of the 
inhabitants of Aguogo and Sokore hastily concealed them- 
selves. 
A chief in the vassal state of Serem had been amusing 
himself with making an image of gold to display his 
riches. The king sent messengers to demand this image, 
whom the chief dismissed, saying, if the king wished 
for an image, he could make one for himself, upon which 
other messengers were despatched, and the way was 
ordered to be barricaded until their return. 
To the north of Asini, and west of Fantee, a day's 
march further into the interior, was the commercial town 
of Kinshabo, numbering about four thousand inhabitants. 
Its Prince Amatifu, an ally of Ashantee, had delivered a 
large number of powder-boxes on credit to the king, for 
which he offered in payment the hundreds of Wusutra 
