第56章

Fatikowasinnorthlatitude3degrees01minutes，and165milesfromheadquarters。HadIattemptedtoreleasesomethousandslavesfromthedifferentstations，Ishouldhaverequiredalargemilitaryforcetohaveoccupiedthosestations，andtohavedrivenoutthewholeoftheslave-huntersbodily。

Iftheslaveshadbeenreleased，itwouldhavebeenimpossibletohavereturnedthemtotheirhomes，astheyhadbeencollectedfromeveryquarterofthecompassandfromgreatdistances。IfIhadkeptthem，I

couldnothaveprocuredfoodforsolargeanumber：asthestationscontainedseveralthousand。

Underthecircumstances，Itookthewisercourseofnon-interferencewiththestockinhand，butIissuedthemostsevereordersrespectingthefutureconductofAbouSaood’scompanies。Iarrangedtoleaveadetachmentof100men，underthecommandofMajorAbdullah，toformastationadjoiningthatofAbouSaoodinFatiko，togetherwiththeheavierbaggageandthegreaterportionoftheammunition。

Thegovernmentwouldbethusrepresentedbyamostrespectableandcivilizedofficer，whowouldgiveconfidenceandprotectiontothecountry；asIconcludedthattheprestigeoftheKhedivewouldbesufficienttoestablishorderamonghissubjects，bytherepresentationofoneofhisofficersandadetachmentof100troops。

IgaveorderstoGimoroandShoolitopreparecarriersforthejourneytoUnyoro。

AnuntowardoccurrencehadtakenplaceshortlyafterourarrivalatFatiko。

Ashasalreadybeendescribed，theLoborenativeshadnotonlycheatedusoutofmanycowsthathadbeenreceived，forwhichthecarriershadnotbeenforthcoming，butnumbershaddesertedontheroad，whichhadcausedthetroopsgreattroubleandfatigue，astheyhadbeenobligedtodivideamongthemtheabandonedloads。UponourarrivalatFatiko，thesonofsheikAbbio，ofLobore，wouldhaveabscondedwithallhispeople，hadhenotbeenretainedbythetroops。Thismanwasresponsibleforthenativeswhohadengagedthemselvesforthejourney。

ItwouldhavebeentheheightofimprudencetohavepermittedtheimmediatedepartureofourcarriersbeforeIhadarrangedforthefuture，thusabouteightyweresecuredbythesoldiers，includingthesheik’sson，fromageneralstampedethattookplace。

Iorderedthemtobedisarmed，asIconsideredthatifunarmed，theywouldnotventurealonethroughtheMadicountry。

Intheeveningtheyweresecuredbyaslightlinetiedroundeachman’sneck，andconnectedingangsoffive。Aguardwasplacedovertheminadditiontotheusualsentries。

Atabout4a。m。asignalwasgivenbyoneoftheirpeople。Everymanhadgnawedthroughhiscordwithhisteethduringthedarkness，andattheconcertedcryinalanguagethatnooneunderstood，theentireparty，ofupwardsofeightymen，knockeddowntheastonishedguard，alsothesentries，andrushedheadlongovertherocksinthedirectionofLobore。

Itwasanaturalimpulseandasoldier’sdutytofireinthedirectionoftheassailants，astheoverturnedsentriesquicklyrecoveredandjoinedtheguardinavolley。

Iwasupinaninstant，anduponarrivalatthespotIwasinformedoftheoccurrence。Itwaspitchdark，thereforealanternwasbrought，andafterasearch，threebodieswerediscoveredoftherashandunfortunateLobore。Iwasexceedinglysorrythatsuchaneventhadhappened，atthesametimeIcouldhardlyblamethesentries。Iwasmuchafraidthatifthreewereshotdead，othersmusthaveescapedwounded，andaltogethertheaffairwouldhaveabadeffectatLobore。

ThesheikofFatikowasnamedWat-el-Ajoos。Thisnamehadbeengivenhimbytheslave-hunters，meaning”Sonoftheoldman。”Hisvillagewasnotquitehalfamilefromourcamp，andhefrequentlycametoseemewithhisinterpreter，accompaniedbyhiswives。

UponhisfirstvisitIgavehimalongblueshirt，togetherwithsomeyardsofTurkeyredcambric，toformawaistsash；alsoaredfezandtworazors，withaquantityofbeadsforhiswives。

FatikoismerelyadistrictofthegreatcountryofShooli，whichisgovernedbythesheik，RotJarma。Thispersonhadsentwordthatheintendedtovisitme，totenderhisallegiancetothegovernment。

On16thMarch，awildsoundofmanyhornswasthefirstintroduction，andshortlyafter，anumberofhispeopleadvancedchantingapeculiarlowsong，anddan

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