340 PREPARING FOR 



councils had broken up, and two large circles, at 

 some distance from each other, now discussed the 

 momentous subjects that had occasioned such a 

 numerous attendance of the Wahama. I thought 

 of going to the Tajourah people at once, as twenty 

 or thirty strangers surrounded my hut, but seeing 

 me coming, Adam Burrah, and Moosa, jumped up, 

 and met me, pointing to the hut, then to my 

 carabine, and afterwards to the Wahama. I under- 

 stood them to say, that I was to get my other gun 

 loaded for the benefit of our visitors, so we all pro- 

 ceeded to the hut, Carmel Ibrahim, pushing a lane 

 through the crowd of fierce-looking savages, who, 

 without a word, fell backwards, as directed, gazing 

 at me as an object of curiosity, but did not ask for 

 a single thing. 



It was an ominous silence, and I felt it to be so, 

 but taking my long fowling-piece from beneath the 

 roof of mats, I loaded it, a hint taken by more than 

 one half of the crowd, who left immediately, and 

 slowly paced towards their friends sitting in 

 council, where they dropt upon their heels, 

 adding their long bright spear-heads, glittering 

 in the sun, to the ring of troubled light that was 

 suspended above them. In this body, a few 

 minutes afterwards, a great commotion was ob- 

 served, and some of them recovering the 

 upright posture, shouted out " Wahama, Wa- 

 hama," which was echoed back by the party 

 about my hut, and by all stragglers in the precincts 



