ABSTRACT
T HREE months' l~sidence in Ujiji had not elapsed erewe crossed diplomatic swords with the Arabs, openingwhat eventually proved to be a duel to the death. 1.'he game commenced by their assuring us of their anxiety to protect our interests, and ourselves, from the wild natives. We were informed our wishes were to them commands, and their services were at our disposal both in peace and war. An Arab, like the lion, is most dangerous when silently stalking his prey. With his curved dagger drawn, and his tongue hurling threats at you, he is not half so near to cutting your throat as \vhen protesting eternal friendship. Secret conferences, we knew, were being held at night in their enclosures. Some presentinlent of danger disturbed their hitherto serene monopoly of the traffic in humanity. 'I'his steel boat must be a slnall man-o'-war, intended to destroy the slave dhows. We were, they supposed, disguised servants of the British Consul at Zanzibar. In fact, they instinctively felt we had thrown down the glove in their very nlidst, not as a direct challenge to fight with rifles (we had only sporting weapons), but rather as competitors in the struggle for supremacy. We were seeking to obtain not only the country, but the right to lay down laws which, they knew, spelt ruin to their autocracy. Such were the deductions we were able to make from reports brought by loyal men in our service.
