IN THE JUNGLE 



once in a while, we came upon people squatted down 

 behind small stocks of sugarcane, yams, bananas, 

 and the like. With these our boys did a brisk trade. 

 Little paths led mysteriously into the jungle. Down 

 them came more savages to greet us. Everybody 

 was most friendly and cheerful, thanks to Home's 

 personal influence. Two years before this same 

 lot had been hostile. From every hidden village 

 came the headmen or chiefs. They all wanted to 

 shake hands — the ordinary citizen never dreamed 

 of aspiring to that honour — and they all spat care- 

 fully into their palms before they did so. This all 

 had to be done in passing: for ordinary village head- 

 men it was beneath Our Dignity to draw rein. 

 Once only we broke over this rule. That was in the 

 case of an old fellow with white hair who managed 

 to get so tangled up in the shrubbery that he could 

 not get to us. He was so frantic with disappoint- 

 ment that we made an exception and waited. 



About three miles out, we lost one of our nevv'ly 

 acquired totos. Reason: an exasperated parent, 

 who had followed from Meru for the purpose of re- 

 claiming his runaway offspring. The latter was 

 dragged off howling. Evidently he, like some of his 

 civilized cousins, had "run away to join the circus." 

 As nearly as we could get at it, the rest of the totos, 

 as well as the nine additional we picked up before 



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