468 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
from their contemplation. What would the morning 
bring forth ? There was I, with my ten men, within a 
fortified village whence it was not easy to escape, and 
even were the passage clear, where was I to obtain 
carriers now that I was, so to speak, at daggers drawn 
with their chief? My readers may form some slight 
idea of the anxiety with which I watched for the first 
gleam of daylight. 
When the dawn at last appeared I took it as a good 
omen that the fever had somewhat abated. I rose, 
made all preparations for departure, and then took the 
bold course of summoning the chief, who was not long- 
in making his appearance. I told him that I was about 
to continue my journey, and should leave my property 
under his care, until such time as I could send for it. 
In a very subdued manner he begged me not to do that, 
as he would furnish me with carriers ; he made a 
thousand apologies for the occurrence of the evening- 
before, the whole blame of which he threw upon Cas- 
soma, whom, as he averred, he had turned out of his 
house. This, however, was not true, as I caught a 
glimpse of the fellow a little later on. At ten o’clock 
the requisite carriers appeared. But I saw at a glance 
that they did not all deserve that name, for amid the 
group were half-a-dozen girls with bangles about their 
ankles ; so that, in his hurry to get rid of me, he had 
not waited to draw men from the surroundino’ hamlets, 
but put all he had at my disposal, and made up the 
desired number by these female slaves. I, however, 
thanked him warmly and expressed my satisfaction at 
such a proof of courtesy, adding that I had not got 
with me a present worthy of his acceptance, but that 
I should be happy to offer him a handsome gun if 
he would send a man with me, in whom he placed confi¬ 
dence, to receive it at the Bilie ; hinting, at the same 
time, that I should be pleased if he selected for such 
office his confidant, the chief Palanca. My delight was 
extreme (though I took care to conceal it) at his yielding 
to my request and appointing Palanca to accompany 
me. By so doing, this Dumbo princelet delivered into 
