Rahonka retired, and in a few minutes we received twenty loads of corn for the troops, as a peace-offering.
Thus ended the month of May, which had nearly closed in bloodshed.
There could be no doubt that an attack upon the troops had been intended; and I could not help admiring the organization of the people, that enabled so large a force to be concentrated upon a given point in a few minutes after the alarm had sounded. My wife, upon whose cool judgment I could always depend, described vividly her apprehensions of treachery. She had witnessed the extraordinary energy which the natives had exhibited in rushing from the neighbouring villages, almost immediately when the war-drum had sounded. They had poured in streams past the station, and had brandished their lances and shields at her as they thronged at full speed within fifty yards of the government clearing.
Fortunately, when the big nogara had sounded, both she and the troops understood the signal, and with praiseworthy speed she had placed every man in position to defend the station. Even the servants and our black boys were armed, and occupied the posts assigned to them. Without these precautions it is highly probable that the station would have been attacked, in which case it might have been at once overwhelmed by so immense a superiority of force.
I felt that on the whole we had narrowly escaped from ruin. My intention, when in the open square, had been to seize a rifle from a soldier, and at once to shoot Kabba Rega had hostilities commenced after his appearance; but, even had we been able to hold our own, with a party of eighty men, we should have lost the entire station, together with all our ammunition, and every soul would have been massacred.
I had serious misgivings for the future. This demonstration looked extremely bad after the departure of my thirty-six men with the post to Fatiko. If Kabba Rega and his people were treacherous, they could easily murder the party whom they were pretending to escort as friends.
On the other hand, I could not conceive why Kabba Rega or his people should be ill-disposed, unless he harboured resentment on account of the discovery of his theft of the muskets and ammunition from the irregulars, which I had forced him to restore.
My Baris and Molodi all declared that he was suspicious because I had pardoned the slave-hunters and received them into government service. This merciless young villain, who had so treacherously murdered his own kith and kin, had no conception of forgiveness; thus he could not understand why I had not killed the slave-hunters when they were once in my power.
There was no doubt that discontent rankled deeply in his heart for some cause or other; as he had never appeared, or received visits, for many days, but had sulkily shut himself up within his own court.
He only went out daily, at a certain time, to collect subscriptions for the pay of his beloved rascals, the bonosoora; but this led him through the town in the opposite direction to our camp, therefore we never saw him.