"At length, however, at dawn on the sixth day, I took the road,
accompanied by my most unwilling bearers, who did not at all like the
idea of thus putting their heads into the lion's mouth. Indeed, it was
only the fear of Nala's spears, together with a vague confidence in
myself, that induced them to accept the adventure. With me also were
about two hundred Butianas, all armed with guns of various kinds, for
many of these people had guns, though they were not very proficient in
the use of them. But they carried no shields and wore no head-dress or
armlets; indeed, every warlike appearance was carefully avoided. With
our party went also a sister of Maiwa's, though by a different mother,
who strongly resembled her in face and form, and whose mission it was to
impersonate the runaway wife.

"That evening we camped upon the top of the cliff up which we had so
barely escaped, and next morning at the first breaking of the light we
rolled away the stones with which we had blocked the passage some days
before, and descended to the hill-side beneath. Here the bodies, or
rather the skeletons of the men who had fallen before my rifle, still
lay about. The Matuku soldiers had left their comrades to be buried by
the vultures. I descended the gully into which poor Gobo had fallen, and
searched for his body, but in vain, although I found the spot where he
and the other man had struck, together with the bones of the latter,
which I recognized by the waist-cloth. Either some beast of prey had
carried Gobo off, or the Matuku people had disposed of his remains, and
also of my express rifle which he carried. At any rate, I never saw or
heard any more of him.

"Once in Wambe's country, we adopted a very circumspect method of
proceeding. About fifty men marched ahead in loose order to guard