o none knew what it meant, since it spoke of 'a hollow
spear that smoked,' and such a weapon was not known to us."

"Indeed," I said, mourning within myself that we should not be in a
position to bring about the fulfilment of that prophecy, which, as Hans
said, shaking his head sadly, "was a great pity, a very great pity!"

Three days' march over country that gradually sloped downwards from the
high tableland on which stood Beza Town, brought us to the lake called
Kirua, a word which, I believe, means The Place of the Island. Of the
lake itself we could see nothing, because of the dense brake of tall
reeds which grew out into the shallow water for quite a mile from
the shore and was only pierced here and there with paths made by the
hippopotami when they came to the mainland at night to feed. From a high
mound which looked exactly like a tumulus and, for aught I know, may
have been one, however, the blue waters beyond were visible, and in the
far distance what, looked at through glasses, appeared to be a tree-clad
mountain top. I asked Komba what it might be, and he answered that it
was the Home of the gods in Pongo-land.

"What gods?" I asked again, whereon he replied like a black Herodotus,
that of these it was not lawful to speak.

I have rarely met anyone more difficult to pump than that frigid and
un-African Komba.

On the top of this mound we planted the Union Jack, fixed to the tallest
pole that we could find. Komba asked suspiciously why we did so, and
as I was determined to show this unsympathetic person that there were
others as unpumpable as himself, I replied that it was the god of our
tribe, which we set up there to be worshipped, and that anyone who
tried to insult or injure it, would certainly die, as the witch-doctor,
Imbozwi, and his children had found out. For once Komba seemed a little
impressed, and even bowed to the bunting as he passed by.

What I did not inform him was that we had set the flag there to be a
sign and a beacon to us in case we should ever be forced to find our way
back to this place unguided and in a hurry. As a matter of fact, this
piece of forethought, which oddly enough originated with the most
reckless of our party, Stephen, proved our salvation, as I shall tell
later on. At the foot of the mound we set our camp for the night, the
Mazitu soldiers under Babemba, who did not mind mosquitoes, making
theirs nearer to the lake, just opposite to where a wide hippopotamus
lane pi