The Handkerchief I Had Given Irungu At
Usui To Present As A Letter To Mtesa He Had Snatched Away From
Him, And Given, Himself, To His King, Who No Sooner Received It
Than He Bound It Round His Head, And Said, In Ecstasies Of
Delight, "Oh, The Mzungu, The Mzungu!
He does indeed want to see
me." Then giving him four cows as a return letter to take to
Me,
he said, "Hurry off as quickly as possible and bring him here."
"The cows," said N'yamgundu, "have gone on to Kisuere by another
route, but I will bring them here; and then, as Maula is taking
you, I will go and fetch Grant." I then told him not to be in
such a hurry. I had turned off Maula for treating me like a dog,
and I would not be escorted by him again. He replied that his
orders would not be fully accomplished as long as any part of my
establishment was behind; so he would, if I wished it, leave part
of his "children" to guide me on to Mtesa's, whilst he went to
fetch Grant. An officer, I assured him, had just gone on to fetch
Grant, so he need not trouble his head on that score; at any
rate, he might reverse his plan, and send his children for Grant,
whilst he went on with me, by which means he would fully
accomplish his mission. Long arguments ensued, and I at length
turned the tables by asking who was the greatest - myself or my
children; when he said, "As I see you are the greatest, I will do
as you wish; and after fetching the cows from Kisuere, we will
march to-morrow at sunrise."
The sun rose, but N'yamgundu did not appear.
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