ere M'booley was standing smoking
with great satisfaction one of B's tailor-made cigarettes. M'booley
advanced ten feet to meet them, and brought them up to introduce them
one by one in the most formal fashion. These were of course his family,
and we had to confess that they "saw" N'Zahgi's outfit of ornaments and
"raised" him beyond the ceiling. We gave them each in turn the handshake
of ceremony, first with the palms as we do it, and then each grasping
the other's upright thumb. The "little chiefs" were proud, aristocratic
little fellows, holding themselves very straight and solemn. I think one
would have known them for royalty anywhere.

It was quite a social occasion. None of our guests was in the least ill
at ease; in fact, the young ladies were quite coy and flirtatious. We
had a great many jokes. Each of the little ladies received a handful
of prevailing beads. M'booley smiled benignly at these delightful
femininities. After a time he led us to the edge of the hill and showed
us his houses across the cation, perched on a flat about halfway up the
wall. They were of the usual grass-thatched construction, but rather
larger and neater than most. Examining them through the glasses we saw
that a little stream had been diverted to flow through the front
yard. M'booley waved his hand abroad and gave us to understand that he
considered the outlook worth looking at. It was; but an appreciation of
that fact is foreign to the average native. Next morning, when we rode
by very early, we found the little flat most attractively cleared
and arranged. M'booley was out to shake us by the hand in farewell,
shivering in the cold of dawn. The flirtatious and spoiled little
beauties were not in evidence.

One day after two very deep canyons we emerged from the forest jungle
into an up and down country of high jungle bush-brush. From the top
of a ridge it looked a good deal like a northern cut-over pine country
grown up very heavily to blackberry vines; although, of course, when
we came nearer, the "blackberry vines" proved to be ten or twenty feet
high. This was a district of which Horne had warned us. The natives
herein were reported restless and semi-hostile; and in fact had never
been friendly. They probably needed the demonstration most native tribes
seem to require before they are content to settle down and be happy. At
any rate safaris were not permitted in their district; and we ourselves
were allowed to go through merely bec