rhanging trees. When the dungeon of the forest was glooming to
night they saw the gleam of a fire. Swiftly and silently they landed,
surrounded the camp and uttering the war yell, rushed.

But Moonspirit, Zalu Zako or Marufa they found not--only Bakuma with some
dozen Wamungo carriers. Even the dismal squawk of a Baroto bird could not
damp the relief and joy of MYalu. Next morning he despatched a secret
messenger to Yabolo, making a rendezvous at a certain village and with a
weeping Bakuma in his train set out to seek the rest of his fortune at the
camp of Eyes-in-the-hands.

CHAPTER 21

In the village of Bakahenzie was discontent.

The desertion of Sakamata, Yabolo, and three chiefs, had corroborated his
suspicions of the unfrocked priest. That Sakamata had been preaching open
sedition he had known, yet Bakahenzie was in the situation of many a
president or prime minister; he had feared to put his own position in
jeopardy by having the offender removed expeditiously. This treachery,
which synchronised with the time when MYalu should have either returned or
sent a messenger, implied another grave error. All the information he
could gather was that MYalu had returned through the village by the river
with the girl Bakuma, some prisoners and some of the white man's
equipment, on his way to the north-east; but no one apparently had seen
Zalu Zako, Marufa nor the white man.

Bakahenzie was at a loss to discover a plausible theory to account for
MYalu having kidnapped Bakuma, who could not be of any political
importance to him in going over to Eyes-in-the-hands, but would rather
prejudice him seriously with the rest of the tribe for the sin of
sacrilege in taking the Bride of the Banana. Shrewd judge of his
compatriots though he was, the possibility of a love motive never occurred
to Bakahenzie. A dominating passion in an individual for any particular
female was rare in the native world; attractive wives or concubines were
chosen and bought as one buys a goat or an ox. Bakuma, in her capacity as
a sacrificial victim, was to him merely a good-looking girl, well selected
by Marufa for the orgy of the Harvest Festival.

Bakahenzie was distraught. He feared that he had not the authority to
prevent further desertions; he did not know how far Sakamata's propaganda
had permeated; he could not guess what Zalu Zako, Marufa and the white man
were going to do. As many a wise statesman befor