Davidina, then, went upon her travels unarmed--unarmed, that is to say, with civilized weapons of war, or even of the chase--but by no means unprovided for. Weapons of a certain kind she had, weapons of precision, very subtle and calculated in their effect. But these were aimed not at the bodies but at the minds of those denizens of the forest and swamp and high table-land whom she encountered in her march. Every member of the expedition carried a toy air-balloon: and they had mouth-organs and bird-warblers; and the two deaf-mutes carried concertinas on which they played with great effect tunes by no means in unison. Natives, chiefs and warriors, coaxed to the encounter--often with difficulty--wept and bowed down to their feet as they performed; also they blew soap-bubbles which had an even greater effect, so that word of them went far ahead and on all sides, and the route they followed became populous. Upon Davidina’s shoulder, for mascot, sat a small pet monkey in scarlet cap and coat; and he too, when the occasion fitted, carried a toy air-balloon. And as it went by land or by water, the expedition, instead of going secretively and silently, made music and song, and bird-warbled; and waving its toy air-balloons, and blowing its soap-bubbles--with nods, and wreathed smiles, and laughter, and hand-clappings--was safe by ways that never varied but never became dull. Again and again, in the dense forest jungle, ambushers who had hung in wait for them, fled howling at their approach--first to report the heavenly wonder to the heads of their tribe, then returning as watchers from a distance to be won by the beauty of their sound and the delicacy of their going--the decorativeness, the ritual, the blithe atmosphere of it all. And at the next settlement to which they came, the natives in holiday attire would turn out to greet them with propitiatory offerings, and songs which had no tune in them, but which meant that all was for the best in this best of all possible worlds.