l, fearful and imminent ill. Suddenly he spoke again:

"Who is that little yellow one," he said, "that old one with a face like
a skull," and he pointed to Hans, who had kept as much out of sight as
possible behind Mavovo, "that wizened, snub-nosed one who might be a
child of my brother the god, if ever he had a child? And why, being so
small, does he need so large a staff?" Here he pointed again to Hans's
big bamboo stick. "I think he is as full of guile as a new-filled gourd
with water. The big black one," and he looked at Mavovo, "I do not fear,
for his magic is less than my magic," (he seemed to recognise a brother
doctor in Mavovo) "but the little yellow one with the big stick and the
pack upon his back, I fear him. I think he should be killed."

He paused and we trembled, for if he chose to kill the poor Hottentot,
how could we prevent him? But Hans, who saw the great danger, called his
cunning to his aid.

"O Motombo," he squeaked, "you must not kill me for I am the servant of
an ambassador. You know well that all the gods of every land hate and
will be revenged upon those who touch ambassadors or their servants,
whom they, the gods, alone may harm. If you kill me I shall haunt you.
Yes, I shall sit on your shoulder at night and jibber into your ear so
that you cannot sleep, until you die. For though you are old you must
die at last, Motombo."

"It is true," said the Motombo. "Did I not tell you that he was full of
cunning? All the gods will be avenged upon those who kill ambassadors
or their servants. That"--here he laughed again in his dreadful way--"is
the rights of the gods alone. Let the gods of the Pongo settle it."

I uttered a sigh of relief, and he went on in a new voice, a dull,
business-like voice if I may so describe it:

"Say, O Kalubi, on what matter have you brought these white men to speak
with me, the Mouth of the god? Did I dream that it was a matter of a
treaty with the King of the Mazitu? Rise and speak."

So the Kalubi rose and with a humble air set out briefly and clearly the
reason of our visit to Pongo-land as the envoys of Bausi and the heads
of the treaty that had been arranged subject to the approval of the
Motombo and Bausi. We noted that the affair did not seem to interest the
Motombo at all. Indeed, he appeared to go to sleep while the speech was
being delivered, perhaps because he was exhausted with the invention
of his outrageous falsehoods, or perhaps for other reasons. When