Niger

The reason suddenly dawned on Mungo. Man-
song’s messengers must be in the village, waiting
to arrest him, and these blacks were attempting
to save him out of pure goodness of heart. He
struck spurs into his horse and rode into the
woods.
Three miles away, as the day waned, he came to
a village which refused to admit him, closing up its
gates. Mungo tried another village, with similar
fortune. Women again came to his aid, and he
was permitted to sleep in a drying loft. Again it
rained in the night. Pushing off early next morning
Mungo was forced to another decision of import¬
ance. By the alternate warnings and hostilities of
the villagers, it had become clear to him that to
venture into Sego would be equivalent to running
his head into the jaws of one of those lions he heard
prowling the village boundaries at night. He must
avoid Sego and leave Bambarra as soon as possible.
In what direction ?
Ludamar was an impossible route. Directly into
Kaarta was equally out of the question. Should
he swim the Niger and hold due south for Gape
Coast, through the mysterious kingdom of Kong ?
This was the most attractive route in many ways.
But also it was the most uncertain—it would mean
venturing into lands of an unknown language and
civility. Halting under a tree to fight the matter
out, he decided he would hold due westwards along
the Niger as far as he could, and then trust to
fortune to lead him through Manding and Foola-
191