King of Unyoro, where his majesty's
brother, M'gambi, was continually asking for presents. Having received
a great number from Baker, M'gambi went on to demand that Mrs. Baker
might be given to him. 'Drawing my revolver quietly, I held it within
two feet of his chest,' Baker writes, 'and looking at him with
undisguised contempt, I told him that if I touched the trigger, not all
the men could save him: and that it he dared to repeat the insult I
would shoot him on the spot. At the same time, I explained to him that
in my country such insolence would entail bloodshed; and I looked upon
him as an ignorant ox who knew no better; and that this excuse alone
could save him. My wife, naturally indignant, had risen from her seat,
and maddened with the excitement of the moment, she made a little
speech in Arabic (not a word of which he understood) with a countenance
almost as amiable as the head of Medusa. Altogether the
_mise-en-scene_ utterly astonished him. The woman, Bacheta, although
savage, had appropriated the insult to her mistress, and she also
fearlessly let fly at him, translating as nearly as she could the
complimentary address that "Medusa" had just delivered.

Whether this little _coup de theatre_ had so impressed M'gambi with
British female independence, that he wished to be "off his bargain," I
cannot say; but, with an air of complete astonishment, he said; "Don't
be angry! I had no intention of offending you by asking for your wife;
I will give you a wife if you want one; and I thought you had no
objection to give me yours: it is my custom to give my visitors pretty
wives, and I thought you might exchange. Don't make a fuss about it;
if you don't like it, there's an end of it: I will never mention it
again." This very practical apology I received very sternly.'

After this interview with M'gambi, the Bakers resumed their journey,
escorted by 300 local men, whose services Baker soon discovered it
would be advisable to dispense with. He was now left with only twelve
men, and it was doubtful whether he would be able to reach his
destination and get back to Gondokoro in time to catch the last boat to
Khartoum that season. If he failed to do so, it meant another year in
Central Africa, and he did not wish his wife to endure that. But Mrs.
Baker was interested deeply in her husband's work, and urged him not to
consider her health before accomplishing his task.

A few days later she received a sun-stroke,