226 
THE KILIMA-NJAEO EXPEDITION. 
rest his last doubts in the authenticity of my state¬ 
ments, and accordingly brought out the two letters of 
Sir John Kirk which I had presented as an intro¬ 
duction, and asked to have them read. When their 
contents were made known to him he was seized with 
compunction and apprehension at the way in which 
he had previously thwarted my mission. A passage 
in Sir John Kirk’s long communication to the effect 
that he hoped Mandara would aid me to the utmost 
in ascending Kilima-njaro awoke the chief to a sense 
of his neglected duty. 
Without further delay I must be recalled from 
Taveita and sent up the mountain before the failure of 
my mission could be reported to the Baloza. Accord¬ 
ingly, messengers were despatched at once to Taveita, 
and as soon as I had obeyed their summons and pre¬ 
sented myself at my tyrant’s court, Mandara hastened 
to describe the elucidation of his doubts which had 
taken place, and assured me now of his sincere wdsh 
to render me help and counsel. “ Did I wish to 
ascend the great mountain ? I should go to-morrow, 
that very next day, and climb as far as I chose, even 
to the white ‘ salt ’ which covered the top. He 
would send guides and soldiers to accompany me.” 
I was at first too surprised at this change of demeanour 
to realize the happy change in my prospects, but when 
Mandara kept repeating, as he patted my hand en¬ 
couragingly, “ To-morrow, you shall go to-morrow,” 
it began to dawn on me that it was a serious proposal, 
and I accepted eagerly and began to discuss the details 
of the expedition. Nine of my own men would be 
taken and six soldiers of Mandara’s to act as guides. 
“You had better not defer your journey,” said the 
chief, “lest the Wa-kibdso get wind of it and inter- 
