They are killing us;"
whilst I roared to my crew, "Go in, go in, and the victory will
be
Ours;" but not a soul would - they were spell-bound to the
place; we might have been cut up in detail, it was all the same
to those cowardly Waganda, whose only action consisted in crying,
"N'yawo! n'yawo!" - mother, mother, help us!
Three shots from the hooked boat now finished the action. The
Wanyoro had caught a Tartar. Two of their men fell - one killed,
one wounded. They were heard saying their opponents were not
Waganda, it were better to leave them alone; and retreated,
leaving us, totally uninjured, a clear passage up the river. But
where was Bombay all this while! He did not return till after
us, and then, in considerable excitement, he told his tale. He
reached N'yamyongo's village before noon, asked for the officer,
but was desired to wait in a hut until the chief should arrive,
as he had gone out on business; the villagers inquired, however,
why we had robbed the Wanyoro yesterday, for they had laid a
complaint against us. Bombay replied it was no fault of Bana's,
he did everything he could to prevent it, and returned all that
the boatmen took.
These men then departed, and did not return until evening, when
they asked Bombay, impudently, why he was sitting there, as he
had received no invitation to spend the night; and unless he
walked off soon they would set fire to his hut. Bombay, without
the smallest intention of moving, said he had orders to see
N'yamyonjo, and until he did so he would not budge. "Well," said
the people, "you have got your warning, now look our for
yourselves;" and Bombay, with his Waganda escort, was left again.
Drums then began to beat, and men to hurry to and fro with spears
and shields, until at last our guns were heard, and, guessing the
cause, Bombay with his Waganda escort rushed out of the hut into
the jungle, and, without daring to venture on the beaten track,
through thorns and thicket worked his way back to me, lame, and
scratched all over with thorns.
Crowds of Waganda, all armed as if for war, came to congratulate
us in the morning, jumping, jabbering, and shaking their spears
at us, denoting a victory gained - for we had shot Wanyoro and no
harm had befallen us. "But the road," I cried, "has that been
gained? I am not going to show my back. We must go again, for
there is some mistake; Grant is with Kamrasi, and N'yamyongo
cannot stop us. If you won't go in boats, let us go by land to
N'yamyongo's, and the boats will follow after." Not a soul,
however, would stir. N'yamyongo was described as an independent
chief, who listened to Kamrasi only when he liked. He did not
like strange eyes to see his secret lodges on the N'yanza; and if
he did not wish us to go down the river, Kamrasi's orders would
go for nothing.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 317 of 403
Words from 165775 to 166289
of 210958
