Silently, the black dropped the flap and withdrew. After a moment, Mr. Hampton arose and crossing the tent lifted the flap and stared into the moonlit darkness. Then he let it fall and turned around.
“He’s gone,” he said. “Now I wonder how much he heard.”
“Oh, I guess he just came at that minute,” said Niellsen, easily. “Anyway, what does it matter?” Mr. Hampton shook his head. “I don’t know as it matters at all,” he replied, thoughtfully. “But that fellow is a man of superior parts. He’s smart. I wonder—”
Then he shook himself and smiled.
“No matter,” he said. “Niellsen, there’s a bit of food in the ice box which we saved for you. Eat it, and then let’s get under way for the village. We’ll have to stay a little while, in order not to hurt the chief’s feelings. But we’ll leave before the party becomes too boisterous, so that we can make an early start tomorrow. We have a good five days of travel ahead of us before we can reach Entebbe.”
CHAPTER XXI
THE RADIO STOLEN
Chief Ungaba’s party promised to be like several other similar functions to which the boys and Mr. Hampton had been bidden as guests by other friendly chiefs. For when they arrived, they found the select two dozen guests of the chief already seated in a circle around a huge iron cauldron filled with foaming, milky, African beer, while farther off in the village square blazed a number of fires around which the village proletariat were gathered to eat the meat of the rhino and drink their home brewed liquor.
Places were made for Mr. Hampton and the boys in the circle about Chief Ungaba’s select cauldron. And each was provided with a pliant length of hollow cane. Every guest had such a “straw,” and these they dipped into the cauldron at frequent intervals, sucking through them great mouthsful of beer.
Let it be said at once, so that there may be no misconception, that Mr. Hampton, Niellsen and the boys did not indulge. Too well they knew that outright refusal would wound the feelings of the chief deeply, and would bring down upon their heads such a weight of displeasure that their stay in the region undoubtedly would be only shortlived. Therefore, they accepted the straws and even rested them in the cauldron, but without drinking.
This deception, however, was not discovered. For already the party had been in progress more than an hour, and the guests were becoming uproarious and were little likely to pay much attention to the white visitors.