Sporting Trips of a Subaltern 



the town, I was, of course, furious ; but this 

 time we were able to trace the traders who had 

 brought it. We seized the two traders, together 

 with their boxes of the deadly over-proof stuff, 

 likewise the prime minister who had been warned 

 to look out for it, and putting them in " durance 

 vile," summoned a "durbar " of all neighbouring 

 chiefs, when, before the assembled multitude, we 

 broke the boxes, smashed the bottles, and, tying 

 the traders to a whipping-post, gave them a 

 lesson in selling spirits without a licence. The 

 prime minister, under a guard, watched proceed- 

 ings, anxiously expecting his turn to come next ; 

 but being a useful and intelligent man, we did 

 not wish to lower his dignity, so dismissed him 

 with a caution. I forgot to mention that he had 

 already lowered his own dignity somewhat by 

 being " blind to the world " when arrested. 



One rather amusing incident of my stay at 

 Kiama I forgot to mention. About 10 p.m. on 

 a dark night there suddenly arose a terrific 

 yelling and beating of war-drums in the town ; it 

 gradually approached the fort, and my men were 

 convinced it meant war. So thinking that they 

 ought to know, I quickly decided to take a dozen 

 men and make a dash for the king's "palace"; 

 it was closer to me than the rest of the town, 

 and it seemed to me that if by any chance I could 

 secure the royal person before the row started, 



210 



