MYSELF AND SECIIELE. 
293 
in his power ; so, after wrangling, and arguing the 
point, till the interpreter left us to fight our own 
battle, ultimately I had to give him old Burrow 
(worth 10/.) instead of my nag (worth 30/.). I con¬ 
gratulated myself on getting off on these terms, as, I 
must confess, I did not expect ever to cross Fleur 
again. The Bamangwatos followed my wagon a 
long way, saying I must not go away — Machin was 
coming to trade with me, and wanted also to see 
me ; and at last they said, if I did not stop, I should 
never more come in the country again ; the path 
was stopped for me, and they would trade nothing, 
but take what I had from me. I was more than 
half inclined to stop ; but my driver, who knows 
the Kaffirs well, was very anxious to push on and 
join Sechele’s wagons, which were a little ahead; 
and I had received such ominous warnings from 
Puller and other Bechuanas, who lent a hand to 
inspan, and were evidently most anxious to get me 
away, that I let Kaffler have his own way, and get 
away from the State as fast as I could. Sechele 
told me he was my friend, and the friend of all the 
English; and if the Mangwatos had taken all my 
goods and chattels, he would have turned back and 
demanded restoration; and if they had refused, he 
would have gone to war; but I did not know how 
much of this to believe. From the fact of his men¬ 
tioning the thing at all, I am led to think that the 
Mangwatos had some such intention, which I should 
not have believed, had he said nothing about it. 
