He had only endeavoured to gain time
by specious assurances of good-will, combined with presents, in order to
organize the whole country against us. The natives who shot arrows must
have come from Magungo, as none of the other districts were armed with
bows. The arrows that had been shot at us, which my men had collected,
were thickly poisoned with a hard gummy matter.
It was now rendered certain that a snare had been laid for the massacre
of Major Abdullah's party.
Kabba Rega had no doubt ordered the various routes towards Rionga's
province to be ambuscaded.
I determined at once to push straight for the camp at Foweera on the
Victoria Nile, as Rionga's island was about fifteen miles from that
point.
Among the men of the "Forty Thieves", there was a soldier named
Abdullah, who had an extraordinary instinct for finding his way. This
man never forgot a path if he had ever travelled upon the same route.
I also depended upon my Baris and Molodi; although they had not long
experience of the path by which we had arrived from Foweera with the
cattle, they were clever as guides.
Unfortunately, the country had changed terribly by the immense growth of
the grass and tangled creepers.
I felt sure that the route would be occupied by the enemy throughout the
whole distance, and that we should have to fight every mile of the path
at a grave disadvantage.
