At last my men began to talk more cheerfully; they knew where they were: and, soon after, I saw the broad leaves of the plantain, the forerunner of an African town. But, alas! as we approached, we saw no one coming to meet us; and when we reached the place we found only a deserted village. But even for this how thankful I was! Since I left Dayoko I had experienced nothing but hunger and starvation; and these were the first human habitations we had met.
Presently, however, some Mbicho people made their appearance. They were relatives of Mbéné, and their village was close by. They gave us some plantains, but no fowls. I wished very much to get a fowl. I felt gouamba (which means hunger) for meat, and knew that a good warm fowl broth would have done me a great deal of good. We spent the evening in the houses, drying and warming ourselves. It was much better than the forest, even if it was only a deserted town.
I asked if we should ever reach the cannibal country, and found that, with the exception of the Mbicho village near at hand, we were already surrounded on three sides by Fan villages.
I was too tired to rest. Besides, I was getting deep into the interior of Africa, and was in the neighbourhood of the Fans, the most warlike tribe that inhabited the country. So I barricaded my hut, got my ammunition ready, saw that my guns were all right, and then lay awake for a long time, before I could go to sleep.
KING ASTONISHED AT LOOKING-GLASS.