Then they each went to their own camping-place, to spread the meat on their arala, and to cook their dinner. But, all the while that Rat was spreading bones and bowels on his orala, he was vexed; for, there was very little meat on those bones; while Leopard’s people’s arala were full of meat, and savory portions were simmering on their fires tied in bundles (agĕwu) of plantain leaves. At the noon meal, Leopard sat down with his family, and Rat with his. But Rat had only poor food; while Leopard and his people were rejoicing with rich meat.
The second day was very much the same as the first. It was Rat who did most of the hunting. With him it was, ku! (bang!), and some beast was down; and, ku! and some other beast was down. Whenever Rat fired, Leopard would shout out, “Ntori! child! what have you got?” And it was Rat who would shout in reply, “Nyare” (ox), or “Njâku” (elephant), or “Nkambi!” (antelope), or whatever the game might be. And it was Leopard who offensively patronized him, saying, “That is a good boy, Tata! (Little Father); bring it here to your Uncle.” Then Rat and all the servants would carry the carcass to Leopard. So that day, the cutting and dividing was just like the first day; Leopard claiming and taking the best, and leaving the skeleton and scraggy pieces and the bowels for Rat.
After that second day’s hunt, Rat was tired of this way of dividing, in which he got only the worthless pieces. So he decided to get back some of Leopard’s meat by artifice, for his own table, even if he had to take it from Leopard’s orala itself. He began to devise what he should do. As he was out walking, he came to a brook in which were sunken logs of hard heavy wood. They had lain there a long time, and were black with outside decay. With his machete in hand, he dived; and remaining under the water, he scraped the logs till he had removed the dark outside, and exposed the white inner wood. He kept on at the job scraping and scraping until the logs appeared white like ivory. Then he went back to Leopard’s camp, and, with pretence of excitement, exclaimed, “Mwe Njĕgâ! I think we will be going to be rich. You don’t know what I’ve found! Such a big ivory-tusk hidden in the water! I think we better leave off hunting meat, and go to get this fine ivory.” Leopard replied, “Good! come on!”
The next day, they first arranged their fires so that the smoke-drying of their meat might continue during their absence; and then started for the ivory. They all prepared themselves, for diving, by taking off their good clothing, and wearing only a small loin-cloth. Their entire companies went, men, women, and children, leaving not a single person in the camps.
Leopard says, “You, Ntori, go first, as you know where the place is.” Rat says, “Good! come on!” And they went on their way.
Arrived at the brook, Rat says, “You all come on, and dive.” Leopard asks, “My son! is it still there?” Rat, pointing, answers, “Yes! my ivory is there.” Leopard, looking down in the water says, “I see no ivory!” Rat, still pointing, replies, “There! Those white things! Don’t you see them?” Leopard says, “I never saw ivory look like logs.” Rat answered, “No? But this is a new kind. I assure you they are ivory! I have been down there, and I cleaned the mud off of them.” Leopard was satisfied, and said, “Good! come on!” And they all dived. They laid hold of the supposed ivory, and pulled, and pushed, and lifted, and worked. But it was stuck fast, and they could not move it.
While they were thus working, Rat suddenly cried out, “Njĕgâ! O! I forgot something! I must go quickly back to the olako. I will not be gone long. I shall return soon.”
Rat came out of the brook; ran to the camp; took of his own bundles of bones and scraggy pieces, and put them on Leopard’s drying-frames, and took the same number of bundles of good meat from Leopard’s frames. Then he ran back to the brook, to continue the work at the so-called ivory.
Soon after that, Rat says, “Mwe Njĕgâ! it is time to return to the olako; we have worked long; I am hungry.” Leopard says, “Good! come on!” So they returned to the camp to eat.
Rat says, “Njĕgâ! as I am so hungry, I will not wait with you, but will go to my own olako at once. And I will put up a curtain between us, as it is a shame for one to eat in the presence of his elder.”