tain me, and
Baraka, my principal man, began to grow discontented, because in my
intention to push on to Karague I was acting against impossibilities.
"Impossibilities!" I said. "What is impossible? Could I not go on as a
servant with the first caravan, or buy up a whole caravan if I liked?
What is impossible? For God's sake don't try any more to frighten my
men, for you have nearly killed me already in doing so." My troubles did
not end here. A letter came in from Grant, whom I had left behind
through sickness, that his caravan had been attacked and wrecked and he
was, as Baraka had heard, in sore straits. However, to my inexpressible
joy, a short time afterwards Grant appeared and we had a good laugh over
our misfortunes.

On our arrival at Usui I was told that Suwarora, its great king, desired
to give me an audience, and after days of more impudent thieving on the
part of his officers, my man Bombay came with exciting news. I
questioned him.

"Will the big king see us?"

"Oh no. By the very best good fortune in the world, on going into the
palace, I saw Suwarora, and spoke to him at once, but he was so
tremendously drunk he could not understand."

"Well, what was Suwarora like?"

"Oh, he is a very fine man, just as tall and in the face very like
Grant, in fact, if Grant were black you would not know the difference."

"Were his officers drunk too? And did you get drunk?"

"Yes," said Bombay, grinning and showing his whole row of sharp, pointed
teeth.

November 16 found us rattling on again, as merry as larks, over the red
sandstone formation, leaving the intemperate Suwarora behind. We entered
a fine forest at a stiff pace until we arrived at the head of a deep
valley called Lohugati which was so beautiful we instinctively pulled up
to admire it. Deep down its well-wooded side was a stream of most
inviting aspect for a trout-fisher, flowing towards the N'yanza. Just
beyond it, the valley was clothed with fine trees and luxuriant
vegetation of all description, amongst which was conspicuous the pretty
pandana palm and rich gardens of plantains, whilst thistles of
extraordinary size and wild indigo were the common weeds.

Nothing could be more agreeable than our stay at Karague, our next
stopping place, where we found Rumanika, its intelligent king, sitting
in a wrapper made of antelope's skin, smiling blandly as we approached
him. He talked of the geography of the lake, and by his invitation we
crossed the S