The animals were soon loaded, and leaving
the vakeel to take them in charge, we cantered on to overtake Ibrahim,
having crushed the mutiny and given such an example that, in the event
of future conspiracies, my men would find it difficult to obtain a
ringleader. So ended the famous conspiracy that had been reported to me
by both Saat and Richarn before we left Gondokoro; and so much for the
threat of firing simultaneously at me and deserting my wife in the
jungle. In those savage countries success frequently depends upon one
particular moment; you may lose or win according to your action at that
critical instant. We congratulated ourselves upon the termination of
this affair, which I trusted would be the last of the mutinies.
Upon our arrival at a large town called Kattaga, my vakeel reported the
desertion of five of my men to Mahommed Her's party, with their guns and
ammunition. I abused both the vakeel and the men most thoroughly, and
declared, "As for the mutineers who have joined the slave- hunters,
Inshallah, the vultures shall pick their bones!"
This charitable wish - which, I believe, I expressed with intense hatred
- was never forgotten either by my own men or by the Turks. Believing
firmly in the evil eye, their superstitious fears were immediately
excited.
