Chap. LXVII. 
FIRMER POSITION. 
445 
the danger which threatened me was very great ; but 
this errand had no other effect than to rouse my spirits. 
I armed immediately, and ordered my servants to do 
the same, and my supposed protector was not a little 
astonished, when he himself came shortly afterwards 
with the Walati (who, no doubt, was at the bottom of 
the whole affair), and found me ready to defend myself 
and my property, and to repulse any attack that 
might be made upon my residence, from whatever 
quarter it might proceed. He asked me whether I 
meant to fight the whole population of the town, ut- 
tering the words " giiwet e' Kiim," " strength of the 
Christians ; " and protested that I was quite safe under 
his protection and had nothing to fear, and certainly, for 
the moment, my energetic conduct had dispersed the 
clouds that might have been impending over my head. 
But notwithstanding his repeated protestations of 
sincere friendship, and although he confirmed with 
his own mouth what I had already heard from other 
people, that he himself was to accompany me on my 
return journey as far as B6rnu, he did not discon- 
tinue for a moment his importunity in begging for 
more presents day by day. 
One day he called on me in company with his 
principal pupils, and earnestly recommended me to 
change my religion, and from an unbeliever to become 
a true believer. Feeling myself strong enough in 
arguments to defend my own religious principles, I 
challenged him to demonstrate to me the superiority 
of his creed, telling him that in that case I should 
