"Me tell massa," said Lepoko. "Imbono he say he kill ngombo; Mboyo say no, he kill ngombo; Lepoko say massa kill ngombo; no can tell; me fink one, two, free hab kill ngombo all same."
"Well, my own opinion is pretty well fixed, but we'll see. Why, there are three bullet marks in his hide besides mine. That's mine, you see, that large hole in the middle of the forehead. One of you two must have hit him twice. And I'm hanged if the bullets didn't go clean through him. No wonder he was in a rage. Tell them what I say, Lepoko."
On hearing what Jack had said, the chiefs began to jabber at each other again.
"Kwa te!" said Jack. "What do they say now, Lepoko?"
"Imbono say he make two holes, Mboyo say no, he make two holes. Lepoko fink bofe make two holes—how can do uvver way?"
"Two and one make three, my man, not four. I'll soon tell you who made the two."
By comparing the wounds he found that two of them had been made by Mauser bullets and one by an Albini.
"There's no doubt about it, Mboyo hit him twice. But to put an end to your squabble let me tell you that you both might have fired at him all day and never killed him if you hit him in those parts. Neither of you did him any damage, though you might have done for me, irritating him as you did. We'll settle the matter by saying he is Samba's buffalo. It was Samba who got in his way and gave me time to take good aim at him. And Samba might have been killed himself. I am grateful to your son, Mboyo, and proud of him, and when I get back I shall give him one of the rifles I have left, as a reward."
This end to the controversy satisfied both the chiefs. Neither grudged Samba anything. As for the boy, he was more than delighted. He had never dreamt of handling a rifle until he was at least fifteen, when the negro boy is as old as the white boy of twenty; and to have one his very own made him enormously proud.
"He say larn shoot one time, massa," said Lepoko. "Lepoko plenty mislable. What for? 'Cos he shoot plenty well; but massa no tell him to bring gun. No; Lepoko must lib for talk, talk, talk all time; me no happy all same."