afford to feed us, as we paid him too little, and that before we began to talk I must give him my coat and boots. The Arabs, he said, had more cloth and presents for him than I had, which was unpleasant, the more so because it was probably true.

The Arabs also were on the other side of the river and anxious to cross, whereas I was on his side and had nothing to gain. It was, however, imperative that we should get food somehow. I therefore whistled my men round us, and in a moment, before they knew what was happening, we had disarmed and taken prisoner the unaccommodating chief and half a dozen of his head men. I then explained to him that it would be better to send away all his armed men, as if one of them forgot himself the consequences would be to his disadvantage, and that the sooner his people brought me food the