Just as they were pushing off a messenger arrived from Bonsa Town,
reeling with exhaustion and his tongue hanging from his jaws, who called
out that it was the white man who had escaped with his servant and the
Mungana, and that although they were believed to be still hidden in the
holy woods near Bonsa Town, none were to be allowed to leave the bay. So
the headman shouted to Fahni to return, but he pretended not to hear
and rowed away, nor did anyone attempt to follow him. Still it was only
after nightfall that he dared to put the boat about and return to the
headland to pick up Alan and the others as he had promised. That was all
he had to say.
Alan thanked him heartily for his faithfulness and they paddled on
steadily, putting mile after mile of water between them and Asiki-land.
He wondered whether he had seen the last of that country and its
inhabitants. Something within him answered No. He was sure that the
Asika would not allow him to depart in peace without making some
desperate effort to recapture him. Far as he was away, it seemed to him
that he could feel her fury hanging over him like a cloud, a cloud that
would burst in a rain of blood.
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