“Now we can go on,” said Trim, turning to the astonished Dobbin. “And we shan’t have any trouble from the Massais.”
“Whoever heard of a white man letting a nigger spit on him?” exclaimed the sailor.
“Well, I have,” returned Trim. “I heard of it before I started on this trip, and it was what I was waiting for.
“When the Massai shakes hands and spits on you it means that he is forever at peace with you, and nothing could induce him to do you an injury; so I say we’re all right now, and we’ll break camp and lose no more time here.”
CHAPTER IV.
AN EXECUTION.
It proved that Trim was entirely right.
They passed several Massai villages during that forenoon’s march, but in none of them were they interrupted in the least.
Trim told the men to push their donkeys[Pg 13] on as fast as possible, for now that he had time to think of it it struck him that the adventure with these savages had a good deal of meaning for him.
The elder did not regard him as an ordinary traveler. The elder was quite certain that he was going to find a man who would make trouble.
“Now what does that mean?” thought Trim. “These tribes see white travelers once in a while. How can they learn to tell a trader or some scientific explorer from a man who is going out on detective business?