the Akasava country.

II

Scarcely had Sanders left the land, when the _lokali_ of the Lower Isisi
sent the news thundering in waves of sound.

Up and down the river and from village to village, from town to town,
across rivers, penetrating dimly to the quiet deeps of the forest the
story was flung. N'gori, the Chief of the Akasava, having some
grievance against the Government over a question of fine for failure to
collect according to the law, waited for no more than this intelligence
of Sandi's going. His swift loud drums called his people to a
dance-of-many-days. A dance-of-many-days spells "spears" and spears
spell trouble. Bosambo heard the message in the still of the early
night, gathered five hundred fighting men, swept down on the Akasava
city in the drunken dawn, and carried away two thousand spears of the
sodden N'gori.

A sobered Akasava city woke up and rubbed its eyes to find strange
Ochori sentinels in the street and Bosambo in a sky-blue table-cloth,
edged with golden fringe, stalking majestically through the high places
of the city.

"This I do," said Bosambo to a shocked N'gori, "because my lord Sandi
placed me here to hold the king's peace."

"Lord Bosambo," said the king sullenly, "what peace do I break when I
summon my young men and maidens to dance?"

"Your young men are thieves, and it is written that the maidens of the
Akasava are married once in ten thousand moons," said Bosambo calmly;
"and also, N'gori, you speak to a wise man who knows that
clockety-clock-clock on a drum spells war."

There was a long and embarrassing silence.

"Now, Bosambo," said N'gori, after a while, "you have my spears and your
young men hold the streets and the river. What will you do? Do you sit
here till Sandi returns and there is law in the land?"

This was the one question which Bosambo had neither the desire nor the
ability to answer. He might swoop down upon a warlike people, surprising
them to their abashment, rendering their armed forces impotent, but
exactly what would happen afterwards he had not foreseen.

"I go back to my city," he said.

"And my spears?"

"Also they go with me," said Bosambo.

They eyed each other: Bosambo straight and muscular, a perfect figure of
a man, N'gori grizzled and skinny, his brow furrowed with age.

"Lord," said N'gori mildly, "if you take my spears you leave me bound to
my enemies. How may I protect my villages against oppression by evil men
of Isisi?"

B