These First Explanations Over, I Entered My Tent, In Which Baraka
Had Been Living, And There I Found A Lot Of My Brass Wires On The
Ground, Lying Scattered About.
I did not like the look of this,
so ordered Bombay to resume his position of factotum, and count
over the kit.
Whilst this was going on, a villager came to me
with a wire, and asked me to change it for a cloth. I saw at
once what the game was; so I asked my friend where he got it, on
which he at once pointed to Baraka. I then heard the men who
were standing round us say one to another in under-tones,
giggling with the fun of it, "Oh, what a shame of him! Did you
hear what Bana said, and that fool's reply to it? What a shame
of him to tell in that way." Without appearing to know, or rather
to hear, the by-play that was going on, I now said to Baraka,
"How is it this man has got one of my wires, for I told you not
to touch or unpack them during my absence?" To which he coolly
replied, in face of such evidence, "It is not one of your wires;
I never gave away one of yours; there are lots more wires besides
yours in the country. The man tells a falsehood; he had the wire
before, but now, seeing your cloth open, wants to exchange it."
"If that is the case," I said, taking things easy, "how is it you
have opened my loads and scattered the wires about in the tent?"
"Oh, that was to take care of them; for I thought, if they were
left outside all night with the rest of the property, some one
would steal them, and I should get the blame of it."
Further parley was useless; for, though both my wires and cloths
were short, still it was better not to kick up a row, when I had
so much to do to keep all my men in good temper for the journey.
Baraka then, wishing to beguile me, as he thought he could do,
into believing him a wonderful man for both pluck and honesty,
said he had had many battles to fight with the men since I had
been gone to Kaze, for there were two strong parties in the camp;
those who, during the late rebellion at Zanzibar, had belonged to
the Arabs that sided with Sultan Majid, and were royalists, and
those who, having belonged to the rebellious Arabs, were on the
opposite side.
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