"We tell no lies, bwana" said one of the messengers earnestly. "We tell the truth."
"What is it you tell?"
"We said what has happened: that across the Serengëtti came white men from the country of Taveta, and that these white men were many, and had many askaris with them, and our white men from Nairobi met them, and fought so that those from Taveta were driven back and some were killed. And down the N'Gouramani River many of our white men with Mahindi[[11]] fought with strange white men on a hill below Ol Sambu, but were driven off. And many Mahindi are coming in to Mombasa, all with guns, and all the askaris are brought into Nairobi. And we told these safari men that the white men were making war on the white men, so they cried out at this, and beat us."
[[11]: Mahindi--East Indians.]
Kingozi had listened attentively.
"Well, Cazi Moto?" he demanded.
"But this is a lie; a bad lie," said Cazi Moto, "to say that white men make war on white men!"
"Nevertheless it is true," rejoined Kingozi quietly. "These other white men are the Duyches[[12]], and they make war."
[[12]: Duyches--Germans.]
He turned and walked back to his camp unassisted. He groped for his chair and sat down. His hand encountered the letter.