great shout of "Hodi!"* and
came stooping through the low door, standing erect again inside to
await our pleasure. We could hear others outside, listening under the
eaves. When we had kept him waiting sufficiently long to prevent his
getting too much notion of his own importance, Fred nodded to him to
speak. [* Hodi! Equivalent to "May I come In!"]

"Is it true, bwana," he asked, "that the Germans will come soon and
conquer this part of Africa?"

"Certainly not!" said Fred.

"There is one out here, a Baganda, who says they will surely come. He
says the religion of Islam will be preached from end to end of
everywhere, and that the Germans are the true priests of Islam. They
will come, says he, when the time is ripe, and call on all the converts
of Islam to rise and slay all other people, including all white folk,
like the English, who do not accept that creed. If that is true,
bwana, whither shall we go, and whither shall you go, to escape such
terrible things?"

"Does the Baganda know there are white men in this village?" Fred asked.

"Not yet, bwana."

"Don't tell him, then, but bring him in here. Tell him there are folk
in here who say he is a liar."

The Nyamwezi backed out, and we heard whispering outside. There is
precious little performance in Africa without a deal of talk. At the
end of about ten minutes the porter again shouted "Hodi!" and this time
was followed in by the stranger, seven other of our own men, uninvited,
bringing up the rear.

"Jambo!"* said the Baganda, with a great effort at bravado, when his
eyes had grown accustomed to the gloom and the first severe surprise of
seeing white men had worn off. He was a very cool customer indeed. [*
Jambo! Kiswahili equivalent of "How d'you do?"]

"Whose pimp are you?" demanded Fred, without answering the salutation.

The man fell back on insolence at once. There is no native in Africa
who takes more keenly to that weapon than the mission-schooled Baganda.

"I am employed by a gentleman of superior position," he answered in
perfectly good English.

"In what capacity?" demanded Fred.

"I am not employed to tell his secrets to the first strangers who ask
me!"

"Do you obey him implicitly?"

"I do. I am honorable person. I receive his pay and do his bidding."

"Is his name Schillingschen?"

The Baganda hesitated.

"All right," said Fred. "I know his name is Schillingschen. You have
boasted that you do what he orders you. Th