Effects to his camp, where we might, in a
personal interview, come to terms.
I told my vakeel to return to me with the fifty men, and to be sure to
bring from Kamrasi some token by which I should know that he had
actually seen him. The vakeel and Yaseen started.
After some days the absconded guide, Rabonga, appeared with a number of
men, but without either my vakeel or Yaseen. He carried with him a small
gourd bottle, carefully stopped; this he broke, and extracted from the
inside two pieces of printed paper that Kamrasi had sent to me in reply.
On examining the papers, I found them to be portions of the English
Church Service translated into (I think) the "Kisuabili" language, by Dr
Krapf! There were many notes in pencil on the margin, written in
English, as translations of words in the text. It quickly occurred to me
that Speke must have given this book to Kamrasi on his arrival from
Zanzibar, and that he now extracted the leaves and sent them to me as a
token I had demanded to show that my message had been delivered to him.
Rabonga made a lame excuse for his previous desertion. He delivered a
thin ox that Kamrasi had sent me, and he declared that his orders were
that he should take my whole party immediately to Kamrasi, as he was
anxious that we should attack Fowooka without loss of time. We were
positively to start on the following morning! My bait had taken, and we
should escape from this frightful spot, Shooa Moru.
After winding through dense jungles of bamboos and interminable groves
of destroyed plantains, we perceived the tops of a number of grass hats
appearing among the trees. My men now begged to be allowed to fire a
salute, as it was reported that the ten men of Ibrahim's party who had
been left as hostages were quartered at this village with Kamrasi.
Hardly had the firing commenced when it was immediately replied to by
the Turks from their camp, who, upon our approach, came out to meet us
with great manifestations of delight and wonder at our having
accomplished our long and difficult voyage.
My vakeel and Yaseen were the first to meet us, with an apology that
severe fever had compelled them to remain in camp instead of returning
to Shooa Moru according to my orders; but they had delivered my message
to Kamrasi, who had, as I had supposed, sent two leaves out of a book
Speke had given him, as a reply. An immense amount of news had to be
exchanged between my men and those of Ibrahim. They had quite given us
up for lost, until they heard that we were at Shooa Moru.
