19G 
THE KILIM A-NJA P 0 EXPEDITION. 
my attendants, “ What does this man want here, and 
why do you let him in without telling me ?” Abdallah 
came forward, and mildly questioned the Caga warrior 
as to his purpose. “ Words from Mandara,” he laconi¬ 
cally replied, and then, the interpreter being summoned, 
proceeded to detail the ultimatum of the chief—so 
many guns, barrels of powder, bags of shot, tables, 
chairs, cups and saucers, knives, forks, and spoons to 
be handed over at once, together with the greater part 
of my trade goods, or —and then followed Mandara’s 
terrible threats of slaughter and rapine. The purport 
of this speech I somewhat understood from the occa¬ 
sional words and phrases of Ki-caga that were familiar 
to me, and any doubt as to the import of the threats 
which closed the message was set aside by the man’s 
expressive gesture. When he came to talk of killing, 
he drew the edge of his dexter finger across his 
throat, severing in fancy his jugular vein. At the close 
of his speech the Zanzibari interpreter repeated all 
that had been said, striving to exaggerate as much 
as possible the gruesome nature of the threats 
and the advisability of conceding everything asked 
for. But I had long since decided that to yield to 
the “ Sultan’s ” demands would entail the loss of all 
means of defence, of livelihood, and would be the ruin 
of the expedition. Even if I succeeded in reaching 
the coast, it would mean that I had failed in my 
attempt, and all this would be far worse than the risk 
of assassination at Mandara’s hands, for I knew his 
moods varied with his potations. So, affecting a calm 
manner which I did not feel, I refused Mandara’s de¬ 
mands in toto. “ Hatta sindano ” (“Not even a needle”), 
I added, taking one from my coat lappet and showing 
it. This reply having been explained to the envoy, he 
