THE SOURCE OP THE NILE. 15 
houfe, juft as about twenty men of the veiraanti s party reach- 
ed the bottom of 1 It. 
THE governor's fervants told us, that now was the time 
if they advanced to fire upon them, in which cafe they 
would inftantly difperfe, or elfe they would cut us off from 
the village. But I could not enter into the force of this 
reafoning, becaufe, if this village was ftrong enough to 
protect us, which was the caufe of our turning to the left 
to feek it, thefe twenty men, putting themfelves between us 
and the village, took the moft dangerous ftep for themfelves 
poffible, as they muft unavoidably be deftroyed ; and, if the 
village was not ftrong enough to protect us, to begin with 
bloodfhed was the way to lofe our lives before a fuperior 
enemy. I therefore called to the twenty men to ftop where 
they were, and fend only one of their company to me; and, 
upon their not paying any attention, I ordered Yafine to fire 
a large blunderbufs over their heads, fo as not to touch 
them. Upon the report, they all fled, and a number of people 
flocked to us from other villages; for my part, I believe 
fome who had appeared againft us came afterwards and 
joined us. We foon feemed to have a little army, and, in 
about half an hour, a party came from the governor’s houfe 
with twenty lances and fhields, and fix firelocks, and, pre- 
fently after, the whole multitude difperfed. It was about 
ten o’clock when, under their efcort, we arrived at the town 
of Sire, and pitched our tent in a ftrong fituation, in a very 
deep gulley on the weft extremity of the town. 
CHAP, 
