第55章

MohammedWat-el-Mek(sonoftheking)wasthemanwhohadfirstdiscoveredandopenedupthecountriessouthofGondokoro。ThispersonwasacuriousbutusefulcharacterthatIhadalwayswishedtoemploy，ashehadgreatpowerwiththenatives，andhekneweverynookandcornerofthecountry。

Ihadknownhimduringmyformerjourney，anditappearsthathehadalwayswishedtoservemeinthepresentexpedition。Theslave-tradersofKhartoumhadbeendeterminedtopreventWat-el-Mekfromcommunicatingwithme；thus，whenIhadarrivedinKhartoum，thisimportantpersonagewasactuallythere；buthewasquicklysentbyAbouSaoodundersomefrivolouspretextuptheBlueNile，tokeephimoutoftheway。

OnarrivalatGondokoro，hehadstudiouslybeenretainedonthewestbankoftheriver，andhisnamehadbeenkeptsosecret，thatIhadneverhearditmentioned。Thus，althoughbothatKhartoumandatGondokoroWat-el-Mekhadbeenwithinafewhundredpacesofme，IhadalwayssupposedthathewasinCentralAfrica。

AbouSaoodnowdeclaredthatWat-el-MekhadstartedmanydaysagofromFatikotoKoshi；butIsubsequentlydiscoveredthathehadonlyleftFatikoonthemorningofmyarrival，andthathewaskeptwaitingatFabbostation，onlytwenty-twomileswestofFatiko，forseveraldays，whileIhadbeentoldbyAbouSaoodthathehadgonetoKoshi。

MohammedWat-el-MekwasthesonofapettykingfarawayuptheBlueNile，beyondFazokle。

HehadinearlylifebeenaserjeantorchoushintheEgyptianarmy；buthavinganadventurousdisposition，hehadtakentotheWhiteNile，asthevakeelofAndreaDebono，aMalteseivorymerchant。

Mr。Debono，beingaBritishsubject，retiredfromthetradewhentheslave-huntingarrivedatsuchapitchthatitbecameimpossibleforEuropeanstocontinuebusinessontheWhiteNile。(TheslavetradearrivedatsuchamaximumthatallEuropeantradersinivoryweredrivenfromtheWhiteNile，includingMr。Petherick，BritishConsul。)

Debonohadamassedaconsiderablefortuneentirelythrough：theenergyofWat-el-Mek，whohadpushedintotheinterior，andhadestablishedhisstationswithconsiderableforethoughtandskillthroughouttheformerlyunvisitedMadicountry。

Wat-el-Mekwasanexceedinglyblackman，aboutthemiddleheight，andmuchpittedwiththesmall-pox。WhileintheserviceofDebono，hehadcommandedthestationofFaloro，wherehehadmosthospitablyreceivedSpekeandGrantontheirarrivalfromZanzibar。ThesegreattravellerswereentertainedatFaloroduringmanyweeks，andwereafterwardsconductedbytheirhosttoGondokoro，whereIhadthegoodfortunetomeetthem。

Wat-el-Mekwasaverycourageousfellow；andalthoughhewouldnotperhapshavebeenconsideredagoodcharacteratLondonpolicecourt，hewasamanwhowouldbemostusefultoanexpeditioninCentralAfrica，wherehisviciouspropensitiescouldberestrainedbythedisciplineofgovernment。

WhenSpekepartedfromhimatGondokoro，hepresentedhimwithabeautifuldouble-barrelledgunbyBlissett，inadditiontootherarticles。

Theworstviceofthismanwasdrinking。Whendrunk，hecouldbeinducedtoyieldtoanyabsurdity。

However，withallhisfaults，IshouldhavebeengladofWat-el-Mektocommandtheirregularforce。

InthedayswhenDebonowastheproprietoroftheMadistation，Wat-el-Mekhadbeenthesolevakeel；andalthoughhewasatyrant，hewasnotdislikedbythenatives。SinceDebonohadsoldhisstationstothefirmofAgad&Co。，everyseparatecampwasgovernedbyanindependentvakeel；thusthereweremanytyrantsinsteadofone。

Thesenumerousagentsactedinoppositiontoeachotherinthepurchaseofivory。IfanativeofFatikoshouldtakeatusktosellatthestationofFabbo，hewouldrunthechanceofbeingshotuponhisreturn。

Thissystemofattemptedmonopolywascarriedoutthroughoutthecountry，andnaturallyresultedinanarchy。Althoughallthevakeelsandcompaniesbelongedtoonefirm，theyactedasrivaltraders。Thus，ifslavesranawayfromonestationandtookshelterwiththenativesofavillag

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节