This Favour The King Did For Me, And I In Return For The
Women Behind; They Had Never Been Favoured
In their lives with
such gallantry, and therefore could not refrain from laughing,
which attracted the king's notice and set
Everybody in a giggle;
for till now no mortal man had ever dared communicate with his
women.
Shortly after this we left the highway, and, turning westwards,
passed through a dense jungle towards the eastern shores of the
Murchison Creek, cut by runnels and rivulets, where on one
occasion I offered, by dumb signs to carry the fair ones pick-a-
back over, and after crossing a second myself by a floating log,
offered my hand. The leading wife first fears to take it, then
grows bold and accepts it; when the prime beauty, Lubuga,
following in her wake, and anxious to feel, I fancy, what the
white man is like, with an imploring face holds out both her
hands in such a captivating manner, that though I feared to draw
attention by waiting any longer, I could not resist compliance.
The king noticed it; but instead of upbraiding me, passed it off
as a joke, and running up to the Kamraviona, gave him a poke in
the ribs, and whispered what he had seen, as if it had been a
secret. "Woh, woh!" says the Kamraviona, "what wonders will
happen next?"
We were now on the buffalo ground; but nothing could be seen save
some old footprints of buffaloes, and a pitfall made for catching
them.
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