“I thank you for the offer; but, if it is possible, I must go back to my ship,” said Ned.
“But I say that it is impossible,” answered Sayd, who evidently did not wish to part with Ned. “Make up your mind to come with us, and you shall receive a portion of my share of the profits of the expedition.”
Ned again thanked Sayd, adding—
“But I have no goods with which to trade, and I would not deprive you of your gains. My captain will, however, I am sure, repay any one for the expenses of my journey.”
“But you can do without goods; you have Mohammed’s musket, and with it you may shoot some elephants; besides which, it is just possible that we may have to attack some villages if the inhabitants refuse to supply us with tusks or provisions. It is very likely that some will do so, in which case you will have a right to the booty we may obtain.”
“I thought, friend Sayd, that you were going on a hunting and trading expedition?”
“It is the Arabs’ way of trading when the negroes are obstinate,” answered Sayd, with a laugh.
Ned, on hearing this, became somewhat suspicious of the intentions of the Arabs, but he feared he should be unable to help himself. He resolved, however, that should an opportunity offer, to get back to the coast at all risks.
The caravan to which Sayd belonged was far larger than that of Mohammed. It was under the command of a magnificent fellow in appearance, Habib-ibn-Abdullah, to whom his followers looked with reverential awe. There were numerous other chiefs, each attended by fifty or more black free men or slaves, some armed with muskets or swords, and the rest with spears and knives, or bows and arrows. Sayd had about fifty of these men under his orders, entrusted to him by his father and other relatives at Zanzibar.
The caravan waited in the entrenched camp, expecting every hour to be attacked; but the negro chiefs had gained information of the number of the garrison, and thought it wiser not to make the attempt, intending probably to way-lay the caravan on its march, and cut it off should an opportunity occur.