MOZAMBIQUE TERRITORY, PORTUGUESE EAST AFRICA (1) 25 
was only one in the place. My knowledge of Portuguese was poor 
at that time, but at least I understood that the only room available 
had three beds in it. I cannot say I enjoy sharing a room with 
complete strangers, but as there was no alternative, I accepted. I 
was delighted to find I was the sole occupant of the room, so 
turned in for what I thought would be a peaceful night, lulled to 
sleep by the community singing of the local bullfrogs. 
About midnight the storm broke as two Portuguese burst into 
the room. They were both obviously very drunk. One sat on his 
bed playfully trying to find his own feet, hoping apparently to 
catch up with them in order to remove his boots, but his efforts 
were in vain and he finally sank into oblivion. There was nothing 
like this about the other fellow—in him a thousand devils were 
having a whale of a time. He bellowed at the top of his voice, 
brandishing a large knife; sweat poured off his face while he 
shouted heavenwards, evidently in a frenzy of religious mania. By 
his mad and excitable behavior I was convinced that either suicide 
or murder was in the air, and needless to say the former would 
have come as a great relief. My anxiety caused considerable heart- 
throbbing under the sheets, and to avoid trouble I pretended I was 
asleep, with my head almost covered up but with one eye watch- 
ing his movements so that I could land out and kick him in the 
stomach if the worst came to the worst. Fortunately his fanatical 
display of knife-brandishing suddenly came to an end. The rum 
had had its fling and now let him down with a flop; no longer 
was he slashing at the heavens with his machete but lay on the 
floor as if anesthetized. 
At the first sign of dawn I needed no prompting to rise, and 
while my companions were still comatose I packed my bags and 
went. The fruits of civilization, in this part of the world at any 
rate, seemed to me a trifle over-ripe and unpalatable, and so I 
welcomed the impending change even if it should mean living 
under primitive conditions. 
As arranged, my host for the next few months was at the station 
early in the morning, having traveled overnight in a wagon drawn 
by eight oxen. I was anxious to meet him and see what sort of 
fellow he was, as we had to suffer each other’s company for some 
months and from that there would be little escape. 
