To escape from these interrogatories, Bruce had several times offered to take his present from the man who held it, that he might offer it to his majesty and go away; but the king as often made a sign that he should not be in haste. At last, after having kept Bruce standing so long that he was almost fainting from fatigue, the king proposed that, instead of returning with the Greeks, he should remain and perform one of the duties of his employment, which was to take charge of the door of his bedchamber that night. However, Ayto Heikel, taking courage, came forward to the king, pretending to have a message from the queen; and, whispering something in his ear, he laughed and dismissed them all. They accordingly all hurried to supper, in no very good humour at having been so long detained. They brought with them from the palace three of Bruce's brother Baalomaals, and one who had stood to make up the number, though he was not in office: his name was Guebra Mascal; he was a sister's son of the ras, and commanded one third of the troops of Tigré which carried firearms, that is, about two thousand men. He was reputed one of the best officers the ras had; and was about thirty years of age, short, square, and well made, but with a very unpromising countenance. He was also very conceited, and had the most exalted opinion of his skill in the use of firearms, to which he did not scruple to say Ras Michael owed all his victories.[29] During supper, Guebra Mascal, as was his custom, vaunted incessantly about his skill in firearms. Petros said to him, laughing, "Now Yagoube (meaning Bruce) is come, he will teach you something worth talking about." They had all drunk rather freely: Guebra Mascal, full of wine and pride, uttered words in contempt of Bruce, who quickly replied by saying that the end of a tallow candle in his gun would do more execution than an iron ball in Guebra Mascal's! Guebra immediately rose up and gave Bruce a kick with his foot, calling him a Frank and a liar; on which Bruce, blind with passion, seized him by the throat and threw him to the ground. Guebra Mascal drew his knife as he was falling, and gave Bruce a trifling wound on the crown of his head. Bruce wrested the knife from him, and struck him violently on his face; the combatants were then separated. The lifting of a hand in the precincts of the palace is punished in Abyssinia by death; Guebra Mascal therefore fled to the dwelling of Kefla Yasous, his relation, but in a few hours he was in irons at the ras's house. The next morning Bruce proceeded there by the advice of his friends, and, having told his story, he at last succeeded in prevailing on the ras to overlook the occurrence, and to forgive Guebra Mascal: in short, although the king had been made acquainted with it, the whole affair was made up. Bruce attended in his place, and received very great marks of royal favour; but he was so much annoyed at his situation, and the many difficulties which seemed to