Niger

interior, and by the sale of elephant-ivory. Ele¬
phants were plentiful in the back-reaches of Bondou,
though Mungo himself never glimpsed them. Never¬
theless, when he told his companions how the
elephant had been elsewhere domesticated with
considerable success, they bared their teeth in wide
grins. Good liars were liked in Bondou.
About eleven o’clock on the 13th of December,
they came to Tallika, and Mungo made his way to
the hut of the king’s tax-gatherer. This individual
permitted Mungo to pass the night in his house, and
agreed to desert the tax-gathering of Tallika and
guide Mungo on the road to Fatteconda, the
capital. Mungo sat down in the sunset quiet and
wrote a letter to Laidley, and handed it to the master
of an ivory caravan bound for the coast.
They had journeyed in a somnolent peace and
contentment hitherto ; but two miles or so out
from Tallika next morning, a violent quarrel broke
out between Tami, the Kasson blacksmith, and
another individual whom Mungo neglects to intro¬
duce by name. It may have been Madiboo. They
cursed each other very hotly, the blacksmith casting
biological doubts upon his opponent’s parentage.
Thereat the opponent drew his cutlass and was
about to dispatch Tami when the others seized and
disarmed him. Mungo was moved from his cold
impartiality a moment. He informed Tami’s
opponent, with a chill disinterest, that if he con¬
tinued the quarrel, he (Mungo) would shoot him
without further ceremony. This ended the incident.
66