266 INTEKVIEW WITH THE CHIEF. 



and seeing that he was not pleased, had come at once 

 and reported to me. 



Everything was soon ready, and the remainder 

 of the night was kept on the look-out, all four 

 sentries being posted round the bivouac at a distance 

 of about fifty yards. It was a long, anxious, and 

 watchful night, but we were not molested or dis- 

 turbed. As day dawned the villagers began to as- 

 semble round us, and I recognised amongst their num- 

 ber some faces which I had seen the night before. 

 At 7 A.M. a message was sent to say that the chief 

 was coming to see me. When this individual arrived, 

 and had taken up his position at a distance of twenty 

 yards from me, I asked him why he had not come 

 to see me before ; to which he replied, with great hu- 

 mility, that he had only just returned to the village, 

 and having heard that strangers were here, had come 

 at once to see them. This I knew was a lie from 

 beginning to end ; but as he seemed in a state of 

 terror and agitation, and inclined to be civil, I accept- 

 ed his excuse, and told him that if he and his men 

 would go and put their arms in their huts, I would 

 lay mine by, and talk with him. This was done at 

 once, and I was soon busy exhibiting the cornopean in 

 the midst of a crowd of some fifty men. The women 

 had returned to the village, and many of them also 

 came to see us. I presented the chief with a small piece 

 of red cloth, which pleased him much, and four fowl 

 were given to me in return. Amongst the crowd I 

 recognised my drunken friend of yesterday. He had 

 just arrived, having come to see me, and brought me 

 a present of a pot of pombe. I played the cornopean 



