Lake Tanganyika 



Congo native from the Lukuga River, of medium height, 

 lean and hungry but full of frightful energy, instilled into 

 him no doubt by a former Belgian mistress for whom he 

 worked in his youth. He also was a good cook but a better 

 " dhobi-boy " (washerman). Salim and he never agreed on 

 any subject ! 



Then lastly came the cook, who was always last and the 

 worst cook of the lot, unless he was thoroughly roused from 

 his usual lethargy by dire threats, and then he could be 

 really good and produce tasty dishes out of nothing at all. 

 He had the knack of starting to cook a meal at the last 

 moment, with the result that anyone paying a visit to the 

 " kitchen " just before meals would find him surrounded 

 by a multitude of pots, pans, plates and cups, thrown down 

 anywhere in his hurry to make room for other things he 

 was preparing, and food, feathers, peel and every other kind 

 of imaginable article lying around in disorder. The cook's 

 name was Masambuka, a Muganda boy, always lazy and 

 always dirty. There you have them — an inconsequent 

 band of happy-go-luckies, with much that was hkeable 

 about them. 



21 



