too drunk to know what they were doing. Mary ran into the crowd. She went
up to Chief Njiri.

"Chief," said Mary, "your visit is over. Go now before trouble starts." She
took hold of the chief's arm and led him out of the village and his men
followed him. They started for their own village.

"I'm glad that's over," said Mary, but she had spoken too soon.

On their way home, as they were staggering along, Bakulu, one of Njiri's
men, cried out, "Look!" and pointed with his finger. The chief and his men
stopped.

"It is witchcraft," said Bakulu. "See the little banana plant with palm
leaves, nuts and a coconut shell close by!"

"Don't go past it," said one of the other men. "It is bad medicine. You
will get sick and die."

"It is the people in the last village we passed through. They did it. Let
us punish them," said Chief Njiri.

"Yes, let's punish them," shouted the men. Mary had been following the men
to make sure they would go home.

She heard the shouting. Now the men started running past her. She tried to
stop them, but they slipped away. Mary took a short cut through the
jungle. She reached the road to the village before the men did.

"God, our Father in Heaven," prayed Mary, "help me for Jesus' sake to stop