"I received him in my palace, and he was a constant source of amusement to my harem, for he made music all day long with an instrument he had with him which played of its own accord."
This was a very precious piece of information. Madame de Guéran was aware that her husband, just as he was about to leave for Africa, had bought a large musical box at a shop in Paris, and this evidently was the instrument alluded to by Degberra. The Baron, profiting by the experience gained in former travels, was bent, by means of music, upon getting into the good graces of the Africans.
At length, Munza thought the moment had arrived to put the crowning question for him and for us, the one which was to decide our future.
"In what direction," he said suddenly to his brother, "did the white man go when he left you? Which way did he take?"
In excitement and anxiety we awaited Degberra's reply.
CHAPTER III.
Instead of replying by word of mouth to his brother's question, he, with both hands, took hold of the lance on which he was leaning, stooped down, placed it on the ground, and, after a momentary hesitation, proceeded to set it. It is thus, as a rule, that the Africans indicate a route, or explain the position of any given place. The exactitude of this kind of compass is such, that, according to many travellers, the spot so indicated can be reached, even if it is a hundred leagues off, without any deviation.
As soon as the lance was motionless, we stooped down to ascertain its direction, and by the aid of our compasses, we perceived that it pointed to the south-east. This fresh piece of intelligence, furnished by Degberra, was an additional confirmation of the letter of M. de Guéran. The Baron had expressed his intention of making for the Blue Mountains mentioned by Baker, and these mountains lay due south-east.
We had, therefore, settled a most important point, for M. de Guéran spoke, also, of reaching Lake Tanganyika southwards, or, if he went westwards, the provinces explored by Livingstone in his earlier travels, and leading to Congo on the Atlantic Ocean. It became evident, from the scraps of information collected in the Monbuttoo country, that the Baron had decided upon the first of these routes, by far the most simple, far less complicated than the other two, and much more rational, seeing that when once he was in Degberra's kingdom, lying east of the Monbuttoos, he was on the high road to Zanzibar.
Our host, however, extracted from his brother some details even more precise. The white man, when on the point of setting out, had asked a number of questions about the south-eastern tribes, and obtained all the information he possibly could from all the officers and others capable of giving any. In addition to this, he had persuaded Degberra to give him an escort to accompany him as far as the Domondoo frontier. This escort, after a ten days' march, left him, but saw that he was continuing his journey towards the south-east.