Now as he had divined on Friday, according to our almanac, this
meant that we might hope to see him--hope exactly described my state
of mind on the matter--on the Monday evening in time for supper.
"All right," I said briefly. "Please do not talk to me any more about
this impious rubbish, for I want to go to sleep."
Next morning early we unpacked our boxes and made a handsome selection
of gifts for the king, Bausi, hoping thus to soften his royal heart.
It included a bale of calico, several knives, a musical box, a cheap
American revolver, and a bundle of tooth-picks; also several pounds of
the best and most fashionable beads for his wives. This truly noble
present we sent to the king by our two Mazitu servants, Tom and Jerry,
who were marched off in the charge of several sentries, for I hoped
that these men would talk to their compatriots and tell them what good
fellows we were. Indeed I instructed them to do so.
Imagine our horror, therefore, when about an hour later, just as we
were tidying ourselves up after breakfast, there appeared through the
gate, not Tom and Jerry, for they had vanished, but a long line of
Mazitu soldiers each of whom carried one of the articles that we had
sent.
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