To Part With The Only Defensive Weapons In Their Possession, They Felt Determined Not To Do, For They Knew If

They were to be deprived of them, they should be entirely in the power of a set of fellows remarkable

Neither for generosity nor nobleness of principle, without the means of helping themselves, and they resolved never to part with their guns, unless compelled to do so by the most urgent necessity. Having reflected deliberately on their situation, they felt convinced that something on their part must be done by way of conciliation, if they had any intention of quitting the country, and of prosecuting their enterprise. On a sudden, they thought of Mr. Park's tobe, which was given to them by the king of Boossa, and they hoped that in consequence of the splendour of its appearance, and its intrinsic value, it might prove an acceptable present to the covetous prince, and be the means of effecting a perfect reconciliation between them. They therefore immediately despatched Ibrahim with it to Rabba, although their hearts misgave them at the time, that it would, after all, be thought lightly of, as an excuse for further extortions.

In this, however, they were agreeably disappointed, for in less than two hours after his departure, Ibrahim returned from his errand with a quick step and cheerful looks, and informed them that the tobe was accepted by the prince with rapturous admiration. By this present they had made him their friend for ever. "Ask the white men," said he, "what they would desire, and if Rabba can supply them with it, tell them they shall always have it. Well," he continued, "I must purchase this tobe, I will not accept it as a gift; that would be against my principles, and besides, it would be wrong for me to be guilty of such injustice. Now I shall be something like a king," he added, turning the tobe inside and out; "let no man know of it, my neighbours will behold me with envy, and as for my own people, I will surprise them some morning by putting it on when they are going to war: it will dazzle their eyes. How great will be their astonishment?" In this manner the king of the Fellatas talked to Ibrahim.

On the following day, Pascoe was sent to Rabba, well tutored by his masters, and in consequence of the offer made by the king to make them any compensation for the handsome tobe, Pascoe informed him, that the first wish of the white men was to obtain a large canoe, and to pursue their journey on the Niger as fast as possible. He promised to settle the business of the canoe, and sent some presents to the Landers, which at the time were very acceptable.

They had, however, scarcely got over the dilemma with the king of Rabba, than a messenger arrived to that monarch from the king of Nouffie, who had despatched him privately to Mallam Dendo, with an intimation to him, that if it met with his approbation, he (the magia) would order the white men to be detained at Zagozhi, until they would consent to make him a present of a certain number of dollars, or something equivalent to them in value; that he disbelieved the story of their poverty altogether, and would therefore search their luggage, in order to discover whether their assertion were true or false, that they had no greater presents to make.

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