And, in fact, we supped royally. A substantial remnant of Fatima’s gift was yet unconsumed, and I had brought quite a little pile of _masa_ from the market. But the crowning glory of the feast was the product of Aminé’s cookery, which she turned out of the pot with a flourish on to a flat basket tray, and laid before me all crisp and smoking. I knew that the brown, whitebait-like objects were caterpillars, and tasted a few with shuddering trepidation, but I ended by greedily devouring more than half of the pile, to Aminé’s joy and pride. During our repast Ali came to our quarters, and we thought he had brought us some additions to our meal; but he had only come to beg a couple of _masa_, and when I had given them to him, we saw him go and devour them in a corner before going back to his comrades. We sat for a long time after supper discussing our future movements. “I like not these new friends of thine, the Wongáras,” said Aminé; “nor does it seem good that a wise man as thou art should be seen abroad with a pack of ragamuffin minstrels. Still, thou knowest best.” “I like them not myself,” said I, “but they go to the settlements of the Christians, where I have many good friends, and I see no other means of getting a livelihood.” Our talk was interrupted by Ali, who came over to us with his clumsy-looking instrument, which he set down upon the mat before me. “I have brought thee the balafu that I may show thee how to play on it, since I know not thy songs,” said he. “Although thou didst very well to-day, and hast, no doubt, played on one before.” I made no reply, but taking up the instrument, examined it curiously. It consisted of a light framework of sticks fastened together with lashings of fibre, which supported twenty rods of hard wood, suspended above the frame on two tightly stretched strings; these diminished progressively in length from two feet at one end to six inches at the other, and under each rod was hung a flask-shaped calabash of a corresponding size, to act as a sound box. The whole contrivance was about a yard long, and the ingenuity with which it was constructed, and the musical knowledge that its design displayed, filled me with surprise and admiration. I took the two hammers--carved sticks with knobs of native rubber at the ends--and struck the rods in succession, eliciting the clear, wiry, dulcimer-like tone that I have described, and I now found the range of the instrument to be two octaves and five notes, the order of succession being similar to that of European keyed instruments, and the tuning remarkably correct. Having thus made my acquaintance with the balafu, I placed myself under Ali’s tuition, and, as the vagabond minstrel was a really skilful player and a musician of some taste, I made such progress that, when the lesson was finished, I could accompany one of my simple English airs in quite a proficient manner. CHAPTER XXI. I MEET WITH SOME OLD ACQUAINTANCES.