He Said, "That None Of The Men With The Brown Clothes Had Been Complained Of, But That His People Had Taken A Dislike To All Strangers, Owing To The Conduct Of The Turks, And That He Could Not Answer For The Consequences."

There was a division among his own people, some wishing to fight and to serve the Turks as the Latookas had served the party of Mahommed Her, and others yielding to his advice, and agreeing to remain quiet.

I inquired whether the chief, Moy, intended peace or war. He said, "That Bokke, his wife, had made him very angry against the Turks by describing their conduct towards the women."

This was rather an unsatisfactory state of things. Commoro departed, frankly admitting that the natives were much excited and wished to attack, but that he would do his best with them.

These rascally TRADERS set every country in a blaze by their brutal conduct, and rendered exploring, not only most dangerous but next to impossible, without an exceedingly powerful force.

The sun set; and, as usual in tropical climates, darkness set in within half an hour. Not a woman had returned to the town, nor was the voice of a man to be heard. The natives had entirely forsaken the portion of the town that both I and the Turks occupied. The night was perfectly calm, and the stars shone so brightly, that I took an observation for the latitude - 4 degrees 30 minutes. There was a death-like stillness in the air. Even the Turks, who were usually uproarious, were perfectly quiet, and although my men made no remark, it was plain that we were all occupied by the same thoughts, and that an attack was expected.

It was about 9 o'clock, and the stillness had become almost painful. There was no cry of a bird; not even the howl of a hyena: the camels were sleeping; but every man was wide awake, and the sentries well on the alert. We were almost listening at the supernatural stillness, if I may so describe the perfect calm, when, suddenly, every one startled at the deep and solemn boom of the great war-drum, or nogara! Three distinct beats, at slow intervals, rang through the apparently deserted town, and echoed loudly from the neighbouring mountain. It was the signal! A few minutes elapsed, and like a distant echo from the north the three mournful tones again distinctly sounded. Was it an echo? Impossible. Now from the south, far distant, but unmistakeable, the same three regular beats came booming through the still night air. Again and again, from every quarter, spreading far and wide, the signal was responded; and the whole country echoed those three solemn notes so full of warning. Once more the great nogara of Tarrangolle sounded the original alarm within a few hundred paces of our quarters. The whole country was up.

There was no doubt about the matter. The Turks well knew those three notes were the war-signal of the Latookas.

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