Part 23 (1/2)
”'No, gentlerow to your feet?'
”'No, gentlemen, they do not, I will show you'
”So forthwith I would proceed to unlace a boot A roar of astonishenerally surmised that my feet were blue and toeless Greater astonishment still followed the withdrawal of the sock, and the revelation of a white five-toed foot I frequently found that they considered that only the visible parts of me hite, namely, my face and hands, and that the rest of me was as black as they were An almost endless source of a to their calculation, that I possessed That I should have waistcoat and shi+rt and jersey underneath a coat, seemed almost incredible, and the more so when I told them that it was chiefly on account of the sun I wore soattraction: 'There's a man in it,' 'It is Lubari; it is witch-craft,' they would cry' He talks; he says, Teek, teek, teek,' My nose they would compare to a spear; it struck them as so sharp and thin compared to the African production, and ofttiive s worn for ornahost, and a snap of the fingers or a sta helter-skelter froenerally crowded round in ranks five deep For once in a way this was ah; but when it came to be repeated every day and all day, one had really a little too ”
Of the discoht, his sense of huh at occurrences which would have irritated some men almost beyond endurance Of soliion was not a pleasant one We had sent our men on before while we dallied with our friends at Mpa When we reached the sues with their fires in the plains below, but nowhere was the caht on it, and e did, what a scene presented itself to our gaze!
”The as so high that the cauished, and the h the sandy plain by a mountain torrent, but now perfectly dry; hence our difficulty inout where the camp was Two of the tents were in a prostrate condition, while the others were fast getting adrift Volu beds, blankets, boxes, buckets, and in fact everything; and a more hted pilgri at it I seized a ha had things fairly to rights; but I slept that night in a dust-heap
”Nor did the e us the Mpa brethren prophesied this state of things all through Ugogo It is bad enough in a hot cli your boxes; but when it corates your teeth, I leave you to iine the pleasure of tent-life in a sandy plain
”A day or two after this we arrived at a camp where the water was excessively bad We had to draw it for everybody from one deep hole, and probably rats, mice, lizards, and other small animals had fallen in and been drowned, and allowed to remain and putrefy The water s seemed to have any effect upon it, and soup, coffee, and all food were flavoured by it
”That afternoon I went for a stroll with uns to endeavour to supply the table with a little better oat
I soon struck on the dry bed of athis up a little way I saw a fine troop ofthe skin of one of thest the any effect beyond a tremendous scamper My boy then said to me, 'If you want to killhi-piece
”Perhaps it was fortunate I did so, for about a hundred yards farther on the river bed took a sharp turn, and cohted on three fine tawny lions They were quite close to ht have been too strong for uest with a bullet As it was, I caed me to retreat I seized the rifle and ran after thes would carry le that lines the river banks; and although I could hear one growling and breathing hard about ten yards froet a shot”
Like Moses of old, Bishop Hannington did not enter the land he had cory at his approaching their country from the north-east, which they called the back door to their land Worn out with fever he was seized, dragged backwards over stony ground, and kept a prisoner for some days On October 29, 1885, he was conducted to an open space outside the village and placed a been falsely told on the previous day that King Mwanga had sent word that the party was to be allowed to proceed
But he was soon undeceived With a wild shout the savage warriors fell upon the Bishop's enfeebled followers, and their flashi+ng spears speedily covered the ground with dead and dying As the natives told off to ton drew hi that he was about to die for the people of Uganda, and that he had purchased the road to their country with his life Then as they still hesitated he pointed to his own gun, which one of theton fell dead
His last words to his friends--scribbled by the light of some camp-fire--were--
”If this is the last chapter of e of the heavenly--no blots and ses, no incoherence, but sweet converse in the presence of the Lamb!”
XV
KEEPING THE TRYST
Maharaj was a very big elephant and Alec was a half-grown boy--an insignificant hureat pals, for Alec adinative boy can, and elephants can appreciate admiration
When Alec came across Maharaj he had taken up his quarters tealow He was pouring dust upon his head and blowing it over his back, both because he enjoyed a dust bath and because it helped to keep off the flies With the quick perception of a boy, Alec noticed he had used up all the dust within reach, so he got hirateful, and immediately sent a sand blast over his back that annihilated quite a colony of mosquitoes Then he admitted Alec to his friendshi+p, and they beca his dinner under a tamarind-tree
”Did the Sahib ask if he was clever? Wait, and the Sahib shall see Here are his six chapaties of flour that I a Out of one only I shall keep back a handful of ? But we shall see”
The elephant driver put on the cakes to bake--pancake-shaped things, eighteen inches across and an inch thick They took their ti only three bricks standing on the ground When they were ready he placed the cakes before Maharaj, who eyed the,” explained the driver ”Those big ears of his can hear talk awith the food?”