It seemed to him now that it would be well to be prepared for trouble because it was more than likely that information about his approach had been carried on ahead, either by Miller himself, or by some of the Massais.
Although it was long after sundown when Trim set out, he had no difficulty in locating the village of the Bangwas, for the savages had built a huge fire which threw its light far up into the sky.
Trim approached it cautiously, for it struck him that the building of a fire meant that some kind of celebration was in progress, and that all the natives would be stirring.
He had no wish to be seen by them until he had had a chance to observe them and make up his mind what he ought to do.
He found that the village was not built close to the river bank, but on higher land two or three hundred yards away.
This, he learned later, was because the river overflowed its banks at certain seasons of the year.
Between the village and the river there was a broad stretch of open land from which all trees and bushes had been cleared away.
When Trim came to this he could see the fire at the head of this open stretch, and he had no difficulty in distinguishing the forms of natives who were circling slowly around it.
As they did so they kept up a strange kind of singing, accompanied by a peculiar beating upon an instrument like a drum.
Trim supposed that this was some kind of religious ceremony.