16G 
TILE KILIMA NJARO EXPEDITION 
wliere on the former journey lions had besieged us, as 
described in Chapter IV. The noise of their quick 
movement attracted the notice of the band of savages, 
who were evidently watching for the passage of my 
men, and they ran hastily towards the river to inter¬ 
cept the latter, thinking they were going to cross ; 
but on arriving there they found the twenty Zanzi¬ 
baris drawn np on the “ ahnost-island ” with their 
guns cocked and ready. The savages hesitated, and 
stopped to parley. Seeing this my bead-man, Kiongwe, 
resolved to delay-their action with conversation as far 
as possible till darkness should supervene and put a 
temporary stoppage on warlike deeds, for, as no doubt 
all well know, most Africans dread to fight at night. 
After a short silence the leader of the enemy asked, in 
a hesitating way, “ Who are you?” “We are the 
servants of the white man who lives at Mandara’s,” 
proudly replied Kiongwe. “ Then you are bad men,” 
shrieked his interpellator with sudden fury. “ Your 
master has helped Makindara (Mandara) to attack us, 
and he has given him strong medicine to make him 
conquer. Makindara has robbed us of many things ; 
now you shall pay. Give us all those goods you are 
carrying, and return to Taveita; you shan’t pass by 
here.” Kiongwe was a cunning man. He saw that it 
was well-nigh impossible for twenty heavily-burdened 
men to force their way through an armed band of fifty, 
so he prudently replied in conciliatory terms, “ My 
master is not a bad man; he has fought nobody, and 
knows nothing of Mandara’s wars. See, it is now 
getting dark. Let us sleep here till dawn, then we 
will speak again about this matter.” Whereupon he 
told the porters to cut boughs from the surrounding 
trees and roughly hedge in the encampment, and to 
