A CKITICAL MOMENT 



303 



tion of how things were likely to go. We soon saw that the 

 old men were the most persistent in their hostile cries and 

 efforts to make us turn back. It was a good opportunity for 

 showing our sang-froid. One fellow shook his fist in the Count's 

 face several times, whilst another, who was quite tipsy, made 

 at him with his drawn sword. The aggressors were always 

 driven back by Utahaj, but 

 Count Teleki was so jostled 

 about that he presently cocked 

 his weapon. Kassa seemed to 

 guess what this portended, and 

 tried to disarm the tipsy man, 

 but he was not overpowered 

 until Terrere, holding up his 

 shield to protect himself, chased 

 him down. This critical state 

 of things had lasted for a whole 

 hour when Utahaj begged us 

 to pay a small tribute to quiet 

 the people. But he threw the 

 beads and stuff we offered him 

 to the ground at our feet, and 

 in the scramble which ensued 

 for them we should certainly 

 have had one or another spear 

 flung at us if our warrior 

 friends had not protected us deac^na sp. 



with their uplifted shields. 



All this gave us plenty of food for reflection, but the die 

 was cast once for all, and we pressed on to the top of a low, 

 flat hill in a little valley, where Utahaj told us we could camp. 

 North and south of our hill flowed little streams, and on the 

 bank of one of them was a group of remarkable-looking trees, 



