Part 9 (2/2)

He had to treat with folk who, in the ical and who believed in spirits When you deal in the abstract with governe of constitutional law and economics is fairly valueless

There is one type of man that can rule native provinces wisely, and that type is best represented by Sanders

There are other types, as, for instance:

Once upon a tiland with a reputation He was sent by the Colonial Office to hold a district under Sanders as Deputy Commissioner He was a Bachelor of Law, had read Science, and had acquired in aacquaintance with Swaheli, bacteriology, and ht of his arrival he kept Sanders (furtively yawning) out of his bed whilst he deinal could be converted-not converted spiritually, but froood citizenshi+p

Sanders said nothing beyond using the conventional expressions of polite interest, and despatched the young e to an up-country station, with his official blessing

Torrington-this was the grave young man's name-established himself at Entoli, and started forth to instil into the heathen mind the elementary principles of applied h the medium of Swaheli-which they imperfectly understood-and a tin kettle, the lesson of steam They understood the kettle part, but could not quite co, and when he explained for the fortieth tinificantly one at the other and agreed that he was not quite right in his head

They did not tell hiood h their table code leaves ton tried the thear produced Su2, Su4, or words to that effect He gained a reputation as a arded and worshi+pped as a Great and Clever Devil-which in a sense he was But the first tiainst the spirit of the people, his science, his law, and his cut-and-dried theories went phutt! And that is where Sanders caotten all the chemistry he ever knew, and who, as a student of Constitutional Laas the rankest of failures

It ca man in Isisi who prophesied that on such a day, at such an hour, the river would rise and drown the people When Mr Torrington heard of this prophecy he was amused, and at first took no notice of it But it occurred to hi to the barbarian a little of that science hich he was so plentifully endowed

So he drew a large sectional plan, showing-

(a) the bed of the river; (b) the height of the banks; (c) thecountry; and demonstrated as plainly as possible the utter absurdity of the prophecy

Yet the people were unconvinced, and were preparing to abandon the village when Sanders arrived on the scene He sent for the prophet, as a young e built on the bank of the river, into which the youth was introduced

”You will stay here,” said Sanders, ”and when the river rises you ain, else assuredly you will be drowned”

Whereupon the people settled down again in their homes and waited for the river to drown the prophet and prove his words But the river at this season of the year was steadily falling, and the prophet, like many another, ithout honour in his own country

Sanders went away; and, although soton resu sickness, and put in three entleman of whom more must be written in a further chapter Then he dropped that study suddenly and went to another

He had ideas concerning vaccination, but the first baby he vaccinated died of croup, and Torrington ca story of a populace infuriated and deton went home

”The country is now quiet,” wrote Sanders to the Administrator, with sardonic hu, but none of any particular moment The Isisi people are unusually quiet, and Bosambo, the Monrovian, of whom I have written your Excellency, makes a model chief for the Ochori No thefts have been traced to hirateful if full infor an expedition which at thethis country under the style of the Isisi Exploitation Syndicate”

Curiously enough, Torrington had forgotten the fact that a member of this expedition had been one of thesickness clinics

The Isisi Exploitation Syndicate, Limited, was born between the entree and the sweet at the house of a gentleman whose Christian naht with a dear friend-who called himself McPherson every day of the year except on Yum Kippur, when he frankly adood company titles came up, and Mr McPherson said he had had the ”Isisi Exploitation” in his mind for many years With the aid of an atlas the Isisi country was discovered It was one of those atlases on which are inscribed the staple products of the lands, and across the Isisi rit fair ”Rubber,” ”Kola-nut,” ”Mahogany,” and ”Tobacco”

I would ask the reader to particularly remember ”Tobacco”

”There's a chief I've had soar et a sort of concession from him It would have to be done on the quiet, because the country is a British Protectorate Now, if we could get a man who'd put up the stuff, and send him out to fix the concession, we'd have a company floated before you could say knife”

Judicious inquiry discovered the entle nearly shot a lion in Uganda, was accepted by a large circle of acquaintances as an authority on Africa