Chap. XXIII. 
DISPUTES. 
55 
had an answer for every objection, and was impu- 
dent enough to tell me that a message had been re- 
ceived from Maradi, soliciting me to go thither ; that 
as Bornu had laid hold of one of my companions, and 
Mar&di of the other, so he would lay hold of me, but 
of course only in order to become my benefactor (" se 
al khere "). Seeing that reply was useless, and that 
it was much better to let this lively humourist go 
through his performance, and to wait patiently for the 
end of the comedy, I took leave of him, and returned 
to my quarters. 
Late in the evening the governor sent for Mo- 
hammed, who could scarcely be expected, with his 
fiery and inconsiderate behaviour, to improve the state 
of things ; and as the governor's dwelling was a good 
way off, and the town ill-frequented, I was obliged 
to allow him to go armed with a pair of pistols, which 
soon attracted the attention of our host, who com- 
plained bitterly that while all the petty chiefs had re- 
ceived from us such splendid presents, he, the greatest 
man in Negroland, had got nothing. Mohammed 
having told him that the pistols belonged to me, he 
wanted me to present them to him ; but this I obsti- 
nately refused, as I was convinced that the whole 
success of our further proceedings depended on our 
fire-arms. 
I was rather glad when El Wakhshi called upon 
me the following morning, as I trusted he might help 
me out of the scrape. After conversing with him 
about my situation, I went out with him to stroll 
E 4 
