no room in mine. In reality my object was the safety, of
tbe stores. The thought of losing the rifles occasionod.-jreal
dread, although I had taken the precaution to disconnect
them, butts from barrels, rolling them in rags.
; Inquiries about the lake met with no satisfactory reply«
He said Chikuse was the king of the country, and that his
town lay to the north'; from all I could gather about twQ
days’ march.
I then inquired who formed the parties which had been
arriving, but could get no ; trustworthy ¡.answer. 'Large
parties had been coming in from the east. They were, armed
with bows and arrows, assegais, àhd shields» " Misiri pointed
out the direction from which they came.- I t was only after?
wards that I found . out that they were? undoubtedly slave
kidnappers, who had been down in the Shire valley.
I had not seen Misiri since early morning. The sun had
just sunk to the back of Mboma mountain, which lay to the
west of the- town, its low, pyramid form being visible from
the plains eight miles south, when my valuable intrepreter
appeared.
He was most affectionately drunk. All he was able to
stutter was :
“ Senhor, tern fome ” (you are hungry).
He had sold every, atom of; his waist-cloth in order to
procure the native beer,.which, causes a drowsy inebriety
with intermittent stages- of excited action.
The Maravi arrived with the goods. The quantity, was
all right, but thè condition was not. Although the chronometer
had received an almost fatal blow during the eventful
night march from the.-Palm Wells,' still it had not been
quite destroyed. Now the outer box was completely
smashed. The thermometers, too, in métal cases, were
broken, while everything else- aeemed to be in a state, of
irreparable dissolution, the sight stirring my breast with
inexpressible feelings of grief. . . - -
After the cloth promised to- the Maravi hiwLbeen paid;
they made a demand for more*' remarking how tired they;
were, and how other miseries afflicted them sorely.
My intention was to postpone further conversation until
the' morning, preferring to speak onlywhendfewas. absolutely
necessary, and . at- seemingly t opportune times.; ■ But here
Chibanga, as spokesman for the whole party, addressed me,
saying that the Maravi; hadjcorncluded to return t o ; their
homes. My contention in ahswersto this surprise was,to the
effect that; we were: still ¡far, f r o m : the.lake ¿ b u t seeing that
the king’s town was only two days’ journey they; should
accompany ; me so far; when their trouble! would; be ddm-
pensatad just as it had been in this town, according to my
promite' ■ - - "■ ■ .
•: No,.they were going home.- Would no lone go on with
me until I.couldget other,men .at the. king’s to take me to
the lake? N o t one would go any further.
- About ■ that itime, i t ' is - only fair to -say,- there ^ were a
great number,-of rumours about a Makololo war raging near
the shores of the lake.,* Africa has ho exception to the
general ru le -of; rumour, which, as, in England, France,
America, or» any othericountry, rolls on like, an avalanche,
^gaining in yxd.UD3LGt-.asa.it pioo.6£d.s* . . .
Had these rumours terrified my stubborn staff? I could
not te ll I : thofiglrty how&ver,- that the .morning, might
bring a flame of hope, foi now there was not the slightest
spark. Come, what might, I was pretty .sure; that the condition
of- affairs could not be worse ; ,foj jthC-sbnder thread
* The Makololo has been used as the designation of the broken tribes
bver w h o m Livingstone placed Makololo- people as chiefs. Strictly speaking,
the races are not Makololp, hut Manganja and Ajawa.