Between the disasters that had befallen his master and his master's
house, and the Frenchman, Mugambi saw a sinister relationship,
which kept him from recalling to Werper's attention the identity
which the latter evidently failed to recognize.

Pleading that he was but a harmless hunter from a tribe farther
south, Mugambi begged to be allowed to go upon his way; but Abdul
Mourak, admiring the warrior's splendid physique, decided to take
him back to Adis Abeba and present him to Menelek. A few moments
later Mugambi and Werper were marched away under guard, and the
Belgian learned for the first time, that he too was a prisoner
rather than a guest. In vain he protested against such treatment,
until a strapping soldier struck him across the mouth and threatened
to shoot him if he did not desist.

Mugambi took the matter less to heart, for he had not the slightest
doubt but that during the course of the journey he would find ample
opportunity to elude the vigilance of his guards and make good his
escape. With this idea always uppermost in his mind, he courted
the good opinion of the Abyssinians, asked them many questions about
their emperor and their country, and evinced a growing desire to
reach their destination, that he might enjoy all the good things
which they assured him the city of Adis Abeba contained. Thus he
disarmed their suspicions, and each day found a slight relaxation
of their watchfulness over him.

By taking advantage of the fact that he and Werper always were
kept together, Mugambi sought to learn what the other knew of
the whereabouts of Tarzan, or the authorship of the raid upon the