ancestral spirits cursing them with the worst drought they had
experienced for years, which in the circumstances he, Alulu, could and
would do nothing to alleviate. How could they fight and work for the
Great King when their stomachs were pinched with hunger owing to the
witchcraft and magical rites which the white teacher celebrated in the
church?

"How, indeed?" shouted the heathen section, although in fact their
season had been very good; while the Christians, feeling themselves in
a minority, were silent.

Then the Chief, Jaga, spoke. He traversed all the arguments of Alulu,
whom he denounced in no measured terms, saying that he was plotting
against him. Finally he came down heavily on the side of the British,
remarking that he knew who were the would-be traitors and that they
should suffer in due course.

"It has been whispered in my ears," he concluded, "that there is a plot
afoot against my friend, the white Teacher, who has done us all so much
good. It has even been whispered that there are those," here he looked
hard at Alulu, "who have declared that it would be well to kill this
great white Lord who is our guest," and he pointed to Godfrey with his
little chief's staff, "so that he may not return to tell who are the
true traitors among the people of Jaga. I say to you who have thought
such things, that this Lord is the greatest of all lords, and as well
might you lay hands on our father, the mighty King of England himself,
as upon this his friend and counsellor. If a drop of his blood is shed,
then surely the King's armies will come, and we shall die, every one of
us, the innocent and the guilty together. For terrible will be the
vengeance of the King."

This outburst made a great impression, for all the multitude cried:

"It is so! We know that it is so," and Alulu interposed that he would
as soon think of murdering his own mother (who, Mr. Tafelett whispered
to Godfrey, had been dead these many years) as of touching a hair of
the great white chief's head. On the contrary, it was their desire to
do everything that he ordered them. But concerning the matter of the
new custom of having one wife only, etc.

This brought Mr. Tafelett to his feet, for on monogamy he was
especially strong, and the meeting ended on a theological discussion
which nearly resulted in blows between the factions. Finally it was
adjourned for a week, when it was arranged that an answer should be
given to Godfrey's demands.

Three