“Under the conditions in which you have placed me by the order of your king,” replied Casati, “I cannot be answerable for anything that may happen when you reach my house. In the meantime I advise you to take my companion with you. He can carry instructions from me and they will be faithfully obeyed.” “Good! Give him the instructions.” “The government’s soldiers shall lay down their arms, and my companion shall obey at once what Guakamatera orders. No one shall oppose him or protest.” The vizier left, accompanied by his troops, leaving three hundred behind to guard the prisoners. Casati’s house was searched. All the collections to which he had devoted a lifetime, as well as Biri’s goods, were carried away and the servants were made prisoners. Naturally their treatment was no milder than that to which their master was subjected. The vizier returned about five in the afternoon, the prisoners having stood tightly bound during his absence, without a drop of water to quench their thirst and exposed to the maltreatment and insults of the brutal guards. He had put on finer attire and seated himself in the great judges’ chair, while his warriors gathered about him to receive instructions. “These men,” he said, pointing to the prisoners, “have called the Wagandans into the country [a pure invention]. Your women and children have been carried off, your houses burned, your property stolen, and your harvest destroyed. The king will visit justice for their crimes and relies upon my arms for revenge.” A dismal howl full of menace broke out. “Gobia, gobia” [“traitors, traitors”]. Casati and Biri were unbound and removed to the place of justice and were surrounded by a new force of warriors. Casati entered the circle and met his servants. He seemed to them like one risen from the dead. The sight of their beloved master filled them all with new hopes. The place where they found themselves was ominous. The great wooden drums were covered with the blood of victims. They must make an attempt at flight. “There is no place except this thicket of thorns which is not beset by warriors,” said one of his men, an active, nimble fellow who had been making observations. “Good! We will throw ourselves on all fours and make a rush through it.”