on the audience was
astounding. The warriors leaped to their feet, highly incensed at the
cowardly act, and some of them would actually have speared their chief
then and there had I not forestalled them. I was furiously angry, and
dexterously drawing my stiletto from its sheath so as not to attract
attention, I struck at my opponent with all my force, burying the short,
keen blade in his heart. He fell dead at my feet with a low, gurgling
groan. As I withdrew the knife, I held it so that the blade extended up
my forearm and was quite hidden. This, combined with the fact that the
fatal wound bled mainly internally, caused the natives to believe I had
struck my enemy dead by some supernatural means. The act was inevitable.

You will observe that by this time I would seize every opportunity of
impressing the blacks by an almost intuitive instinct; and as the huge
savage lay dead on the ground, I placed my foot over the wound, folded my
arms, and looked round triumphantly upon the enthusiastic crowd, like a
gladiator of old.

According to law and etiquette, however, the nearest relatives of the
dead man had a perfect right to challenge me, but they did not do so,
probably because they were disgusted at the unfair act of my opponent. I
put the usual question, but no champion came forward; on the contrary, I
was overwhelmed with congratulations, and even offers of the
chieftainship. I am certain, so great was the love of fair-play among
these natives, that had I not killed the chief with my stiletto, his own
people would promptly have speared him. The whole of this strange
tragedy passed with surprising swiftness; and I may mention here that, as
I saw the chief rushing at me, I thought he simply wanted to commence
another round. His death was actually an occasion for rejoicing in the
tribe. The festivities were quickly ended, however, when I told the
warriors that I intended leaving the camp with the two girls in the
course of another day or so, to return to my friends in the King Leopold
Ranges. In reality it was my intention to make for my own home in the
Cambridge Gulf district. The body of the chief was not eaten (most
likely on account of the cowardice he displayed), but it was disposed of
according to native rites. The corpse was first of all half-roasted in
front of a huge fire, and then, when properly shrivelled, it was wrapped
in bark and laid on a kind of platform built in the fork of a tree.

The gi