They were heard saying their opponents were not
Waganda, it were better to leave them alone; and retreated,
leaving us, totally uninjured, a clear passage up the river. But
where was Bombay all this while! He did not return till after
us, and then, in considerable excitement, he told his tale. He
reached N'yamyongo's village before noon, asked for the officer,
but was desired to wait in a hut until the chief should arrive,
as he had gone out on business; the villagers inquired, however,
why we had robbed the Wanyoro yesterday, for they had laid a
complaint against us. Bombay replied it was no fault of Bana's,
he did everything he could to prevent it, and returned all that
the boatmen took.
These men then departed, and did not return until evening, when
they asked Bombay, impudently, why he was sitting there, as he
had received no invitation to spend the night; and unless he
walked off soon they would set fire to his hut. Bombay, without
the smallest intention of moving, said he had orders to see
N'yamyonjo, and until he did so he would not budge. "Well," said
the people, "you have got your warning, now look our for
yourselves;" and Bombay, with his Waganda escort, was left again.
Drums then began to beat, and men to hurry to and fro with spears
and shields, until at last our guns were heard, and, guessing the
cause, Bombay with his Waganda escort rushed out of the hut into
the jungle, and, without daring to venture on the beaten track,
through thorns and thicket worked his way back to me, lame, and
scratched all over with thorns.
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