One difficulty, however, presented itself. How were Munza's ambassadors to react the Queen, in a country ever on the alert, always suspicious, and where the chiefs of districts had orders to treat all strangers as enemies?
Kadjoro helped us out of this dilemma. It was his time for paying the Walindis his annual tribute, and he offered to let his envoys accompany ours. Munza's officers would mingle indiscriminately with the Maleggas, would pass unnoticed in their midst, and in that way would reach the royal palace, situated at the other extremity of the kingdom, at the foot, according to all accounts, of the mountains. This offer was accepted, and we took a speedy leave of Kadjoro. Our departure was as simple as our arrival had been; a little music, a few shouts, and that was all. Whether the King of the Maleggas had a contempt for excessive pomp and show, or whether he was not in a position to display it, his reception of us was not to be named in the same breath with that vouchsafed by the King of the Monbuttoos, except that it was far more frank and cordial.
As soon as we got back to camp, de Morin joined me, and, taking his arm, I said—
"You are quite of opinion, are you not, that the despatch of Munza's ambassadors to Ulindi will not suffice for us? They are going to propose an alliance and an interview, very important, I admit, if M. de Guéran is a prisoner there, which is possible, probable even, but by no means certain. The great point with us is to find out whether the Baron is actually present in the neighbouring district, and to commit that task to somebody on whom we can rely."
"Precisely so," replied de Morin, "and I pushed on the business of the embassy in order to settle the question of M. de Guéran with as little delay as possible. If we receive news of his death, we shall then only have to get rid of Munza, and try to reach Zanzibar by some route more to the south, which will enable us to avoid these terrible Walindis. In that case, we might skirt the Blue Mountains and reach Lake Victoria by Ouando, without paying any attention to Lake Albert. For Delange's sake I shall be sorry to make this détour, for he is burning to see this Venus in ebony of his, but, before all things, I must look after our own safety. If, on the other hand, our envoy should find M. de Guéran a prisoner in the hands of the neighbouring tribe, we will endeavour to communicate with him, and get him to tell us what plan he may have formed for escape."
"Admirably conceived," said I, "but have you settled who this trusted envoy is to be? He must be brave, reliable, intelligent, devoted, and prudent. Who is there amongst us who unites in himself these indispensable qualifications?"
"Delange, you, and I," replied de Morin. "But we cannot ask the doctor to make such a sacrifice; it would be taking advantage of him. As for you, my dear Périères, though I detest you as my rival, I have the sincerest friendship for you, and I could not suggest your doing what I myself am incapable of undertaking. My devotion to Madame de Guéran stops at the point of making myself an object of ridicule."
"Ridicule?" I repeated. "I do not understand you. What do you mean?"
"What!" replied de Morin. "Cannot you see that, taking into consideration the hostile attitude of the Walindis, a white man could only form part of the proposed embassy by metamorphosing himself entirely, and passing for a Malegga or a Monbuttoo? Not a very difficult business, either; I would undertake to transmogrify myself in an hour into a savage, and the transformation would be a success, I assure you. But the fear of ridicule, as I have already told you, is precisely the thing that holds me back. I know what women are; there are certain impressions which they cannot get over. Madame de Guéran, as soon as she knew that I was going to set out alone to discover her husband, would exclaim—'What a splendid fellow that M. de Morin is, and how devoted!' But when I appeared on the scene, clean shaved, with ostrich feathers in my hair, powdered with cinders to darken my skin, still too white despite the efforts of the sun, tattoed with all the colours of the rainbow, three parts dressed in cow-hide breeches, with naked feet, a club in one hand, and a shield in the other, she would burst out laughing and show all her pretty teeth, and I should be for ever lost, as far as she is concerned. And her husband? Cannot you picture to yourself her husband refusing to take me for an European? I should have to say to him—'I am not a savage, as you think I am; I am a Parisian, M. de Morin, Rue Taitbout, near Tortoni's. I have been chasing you for the last six months, in company with your wife, whom I love. I am going back to her, give me some message to take with me—' No, my dear Périères, a thousand times no! Notwithstanding my devotion, I have not the courage to make myself so ridiculous, and I advise you to follow the example of my reserve. If, however, in spite of my advice, you choose to convert yourself into a savage—you will, perhaps, play the part more naturally than I should—I have nothing more to say, and I will let you go without displaying any great amount of annoyance. The friend will be grieved indeed, but the rival will rub his hands."
"Let the friend make his mind quite easy," I replied, "and do not let the rival be in too great a hurry to rejoice, I cannot, any more than you, afford to run counter to prejudice. Let us give up the idea of sacrificing ourselves, and turn our attention to finding somebody who will sacrifice himself in our stead, and allow us to travesty him."