But I could not persuade them to look at
the matter in the same light. 'At present,' they said, 'their skins were
whole; if they went into Wambe's country without his leave they would
soon be like a water-eaten leaf. It was very well for me to say that
this would be Fate. Fate no doubt might be walking about in Wambe's
country, but while they stopped outside they would not meet him.'
"'Well,' I said to Gobo, my head man, 'and what do you mean to do?'
"'We mean to go back to the coast, Macumazahn,' he answered insolently.
"'Do you?' I replied, for my bile was stirred. 'At any rate, Mr. Gobo,
you and one or two others will never get there; see here, my friend,'
and I took a repeating rifle and sat myself comfortably down, resting my
back against a tree--'I have just breakfasted, and I had as soon spend
the day here as anywhere else. Now if you or any of those men walk one
step back from here, and towards the coast, I shall fire at you; and you
know that I don't miss.'
"The man fingered the spear he was carrying--luckily all my guns were
stacked against the tree--and then turned as though to walk away, the
others keeping their eyes fixed upon him all the while. I rose and
covered him with the rifle, and though he kept up a brave appearance of
unconcern, I saw that he was glancing nervously at me all the time. When
he had gone about twenty yards I spoke very quietly--
"'Now, Gobo,' I said, 'come back, or I shall fire.'
"Of course this was taking a very high hand; I had no real right to kill
Gobo or anybody else because they objected to run the risk of death by
entering the territory of a hostile chief.
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