414 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
“ Are you not afraid, should you return to England, 
that when men say you have never been to Africa, as 
no doubt they will, you will come to disbelieve it your- 
self? ” 
“ Ah, no, sir !” he replied. “ I can never forget Ituru ; 
the death of my brother in that wild land ; the deaths 
of so many Wangwana there ; the great Lake ; Uganda ; 
our march to Muta Nzige ; Rumanika ; my life in Ujiji ; 
the Tanganika ; and our march here.” 
“ But what do you think, Frank ? Had we not better 
explore north-east of here, until we reach Muta Nzige, 
circumnavigate that lake, and strike across to Uganda 
again, and return to Zanzibar by way of Kagehyi ? ” 
“ That would be a fine job, sir, if we could do it.” 
“ Yet, if you think of it, Frank, this great river which 
Livingstone first saw, and which broke his heart almost 
to turn away from and leave a mystery, is a noble field 
too. Fancy, by-and-by, after buying or building canoes, 
our floating down the river day by day, either to the 
Nile or to some vast lake in the far north, or to the 
Congo and the Atlantic Ocean ! Think what a benefit 
our journey will be to Africa. Steamers from the mouth 
of the Congo to Lake Bemba, and to all the great rivers 
which run into it ! ” 
“ I say, sir, let us toss up ; best two out of three to 
decide it.” 
“ Toss away. Here is a rupee.” 
“ Heads for the north and the Lualaba ; tails for the 
south and Katanga.” 
Frank stood up, his face beaming. He tossed the 
rupee high up. The coin dropped. 
“ What is it ? ” I asked. 
“Tails, sir!” said Frank, with a face expressive of 
strong disapproval. 
“ Toss again.” 
He tossed again, and “ tails ” was again announced — 
and six times running “ tails ” won. 
We then tried straws — the short straws for the south, 
the long straws for the river Lualaba — and again we 
were disappointed, for Frank persisted in drawing out 
