and I wondered if it was byThë same lion. : There! was a good
deal of excitement over these: dangerous visitors, ànd at the
remoter houses drums were beaten all night. There was no
doubt that lions were about, as several wère roaring a nig t,
sometimes unpleasantly near. I gave out a rifle to my two
servants who lived in a hut close by, and' kept a lantern burning
outside my hut, and a loaded rifle handy. Two 10ns
and a cub weie reported to be near the Sabaki going-about
openly in the daytime ; the people were so much alarmed that
they, shut themselves up in their houses. Eventually the lions
departed as suddenly as-they came.
A Suria (concubine) of a neighbouring Arab shamba-owner
came one day to complain to me of-her. owner having ill-used
her; on inquiry it turned out that he had only slapped her
with his hand for something she had said or done. - I-told her
the hearing of such complaints concerned the Company’s
officer at Melindi, and offered to send her thére. As, however,
she refused to go, I sent for her lord and master and peniuaded
the woman to return to him, as I thought her complaint a
trivial one, but warned him that if ever à serious complaint
was made by a slave I should interfere at ònce.
On ’another occasion a freed woman living at Boma Upandi
came to complain of her husband, a Shehiri Arab ; she wanted
a divorce because whenever, he went away from home he
locked her up. To this she strongly objected, saying what
would happen -to her supposing the house caught fire ! I
thought that very likely the husband might have private
reasons for shutting her up in his absence, but promised to lay
thè, matter before the Liwali;
Another day- a brother of Ahmed Bed win (another neighbouring
-Arab and a great shikari) camé tò complain that
although his brother, who had gone off oh a shooting expedition,
had left him in-charge"of everything, yet on frying to enter
his brother's house, one of the slaves had prevented him and
actually beaten him, saying he had ho orders to let him in !
I suggested waiting till Ahmed Bedwin’s return, when the
two- cbùld còme-to me and " talk- it- òvér. This -was done,
and everything was" satisfactorily arranged and explained-;
but I was surprised a-t the licence permitted to slaves as