XXVII 
THE GENTLE ART OF POISONING 
243 
moving spirit of the whole piece of diabolic 
treachery, meets Hamice, recompenses him for his 
kindly assistance, and together they drink pombe 
and indulge in a hearty laugh at the way in which 
that fool Manjora thoroughly enjoyed his last 
meal. 
There are many ways of poisoning, and I 
should like to describe another method sometimes 
used as an alternative to the above, which is also 
conspicuous for the clever manner in which the 
perpetrator avoids all suspicion, the poisoner, how¬ 
ever, in this case, doing his own dirty work. 
Procuring little sharp stakes, he hollows the points 
and inserts poison into the cavities, the poison 
generally used being that made from the ujungu 
tree, perhaps the most deadly of the various poisons 
known to the native and the particular kind that 
they apply to their spears and arrows. The next 
move is to insert the little stakes at a slight angle 
to the path which leads from the enemy’s hut 
to his garden and await results. Sooner or later, 
the intended victim slightly lacerates his foot with 
one of these sharp stakes, and being accustomed 
to scratches, takes no notice of the matter, but ere 
many minutes have passed, his foot and leg begin 
to swell, and in an hour or so he expires in great 
pain. Both the victim and his relatives know 
exactly what has happened, but, as the whole plan 
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