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He was not a "child" of the Pig's, but a "child" of K'yengo's; and as Baraka would not allow him to accept the load of mzizima, he went on to K'yengo by himself, and told all that had happened.
Dr K'yengo's men then said they were kept a week waiting before they could obtain an interview, whilst Kajunju excused his king by saying, "At present the court is full of Kidi, Chopi, Gani, and other visitors, who he does not wish should see you, as some may be enemies in disguise.
Dr K'yengo's men were very anxious to accompany us, even telling the king, if he would allow the road to be opened to their countrymen, all would hongo, or pay customs-duty to him; but the close, narrow-minded king could not be persuaded.
They must therefore wait till the road is safe." Hearing this, Dr K'yengo's men, who happened to be as well off here as anywhere, accepted the advice; but Rumanika's men said, "We are starving; we have been here too long already doing nothing, and must go, let what will happen to us." Kamrasi said, "What will be the use of your going empty-handed?
A court of inquiry having been convened, with all the parties concerned in attendance, K'yengo's mistake was discovered, and Bombay was lectured for his folly, as he had a thousand times before abjured his belief in such magical follies; moreover, to punish him for the future, I took Baraka, whenever I could, with me to visit the king, which, little as it may appear to others, was of the greatest consequence to the hostile parties.
"Had they not," it was said, "heard of Budja's telling Mtesa that K'yengo's children prevented the white men from returning to Uganda? and since then Mtesa had killed his frontier officer for being chicken-hearted, afraid to carry out his orders, and had appointed another in his stead, giving him strict orders to make prisoners of all foreigners who might pass that way; and, further, when some twenty Wanyoro were going to Karague, they were hunted down by Mtesa's orders, and three of their number killed; for he was determined to cut off all intercourse between this country and Karague.
In their justification, Dr K'yengo's men said that had they not been in the country before us, Kamrasi would not have had such guests at all; for when he asked them if the Waganda reports about our cannibalism and other monstrosities were true, their head man denied it all, offered to stand security for our actions, and told the king if he found us cannibals he might make a Mohammedan of him, and sealed the statement with his oath by throwing down his shield and bow and walking over them.
But all went well in the end; Massey's log, which I have mentioned as a present I intended for Mtesa, was packed up, and the page departed with it. Some of Rumanika's men, who came into Unyoro with Baraka, with four of K'yengo's, were sent to call us by Kamrasi.
Mtesa, then seeing a flaw in K'yengo's statements, called him a story-teller; ordered him and his party away, and bade me draw near. The moment of triumph had come at last, and suddenly the road was granted! The king presently let us see the motive by which he had been influenced.
Invitation to the Palace at last Journey to it Bombay's Visit to King Kamrasi Our Reputation as Cannibals Reception at Court Acting the Physician again Royal Mendicancy. We halted again, but in the evening one of Dr K'yengo's men came to invite us to the palace.
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