With I'hishlio-ht and Rifle -^ 



when towards evening a deputation of old men, led by 

 the then chief (?) at MoshI (a negro named Schundi) 

 came into camp and begged for an interview. 



This " schauri " was ot course granted them, and in 

 picturesque groups the people squatted down in Kaiser's 

 tent, he conducting the conversation in Arabic (for we 

 were not then masters of the Swahili language) through 

 an interpreter. Kaiser and I remember every little 

 incident ot that evening. 



When the natives proposed to send into our camp 

 a great number ot their young " spear- warriors," so as 

 to detend this, in conjunction with our own armed men. 

 against an eventual attack of the Loita-Masai. we most 

 ■decisively retused to consider the idea at all. The real 

 intention, that it was these Masai themselves who pro- 

 posed to attack us, seemed to us too transparent. We 

 both saw in it a ruse of the chief, who for some 

 time had not been very friendly to us, and of whose 

 double-dealing that night we, later on, had tull proof. 



Kaiser was strengthened in his instant decision by his 

 varied knowledge and experience of native races ; and 

 for my part, my suspicions were immediately awakened by 

 a number of little things I had noticed. 



The night went by une\'entfully, no doubt principally 

 because Kaiser and 1 had ordered the sentries to fire 

 instantly at any native thev saw, and because, on their 

 departure, we had taken care to inform the old men of 

 this command. iMan\- months later, it was evident 

 to us both that our li\es had hung by a thread that 

 night. 



680 



