he chief witch doctor and
confidential adviser of the king.

It was by then too late, however, to mend matters, unless I were
prepared to make an unconditional surrender by sending Machenga the
particular gifts that he coveted; and it is always unwise in the extreme
to surrender to the demands of a savage. I therefore decided to let
matters take their course, but to be prepared as fully as possible for
any untoward contingency. Therefore, as soon as I had bathed and
breakfasted, I directed Piet first to feed and water the horses, then
have them brought back to the wagon, saddle and bridle them, leaving the
girths loose but ready to be drawn tight at any moment, and tie them up
in the shadow of the wagon, so that, if necessary, the entire party
could mount and ride at a moment's notice. Next I had five parcels of
ammunition prepared, each parcel weighing about thirty pounds, and
placed in readiness in the wagon, so that, if occasion should arise, we
could each snatch a parcel and secure it round our waists before
abandoning all our other belongings. Then I had each gun loaded and
placed with the parcels of ammunition, indicating the particular weapon
which each man was to take charge of should it perchance become
necessary for us to make a hurried flight for our lives. And finally, I
loaded my own pet rifle and a brace of pistols, thrust the latter in my
belt, and, carrying the rifle in my hand, mounted Prince and rode off
unaccompanied to be present at the festival, since, according to Mapela,
failure to comply with the king's command would inevitably result in
myself and my following being "eaten up"--otherwise destroyed--by an
impi.

As I swung into the saddle the rear companies of the last regiments of
warriors to enter Gwanda were winding snake-like through the four
entrance gates; therefore, to give them time to reach their appointed
positions in the great square before my arrival, I proceeded at a
foot-pace, with the result that I was the last person to enter the town:
and immediately I had passed in through the south gateway the massive
gates were swung to and barred behind me, while a company of some fifty
warriors drew up across the face of the closed gates, barring all
possibility of exit--to my great inward discomposure. I was careful,
however, not to permit any smallest outward indication of that inward
discomposure to manifest itself, but proceeded onward up the long
street, still riding at a foot-p