HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT 145

three hours, the doctor said so." They didn't believe
me, but they went about among the carriers repeat-
ing what I had said; they put up a good pretence of
believing. It is one of the curious things about a black
servant, the way in which he includes loyalty in his
service.

I am not praising him for that. One ought not to
be able to buy loyalty. It enabled me to victimise
my carriers. I walked straight off out of the village
with my two spare men and left the carriers behind.
I was paying them three shillings a week and that
sum paid, not only for an eight-hour day or more of
heavy carrying, but for their loyalty. The poor fools
when I left them had the money-box, I was a
foreigner, my servants were foreigners, they could
have shared the money out and gone home. But I
was almost certain, though I had known them only
two days, that they would follow. I ought to have
despised them, as I would have despised the little
tame employee at home who puts his office first. But
after a while I began to love them for it. Perhaps
there is a difference. There was no trait of cowardice
in their loyalty, no admission that the richer is the
better man. They did sell their loyalty, but it was a
frank sale: loyalty was worth so many bags of rice,
so much palm oil. They didn't pretend an affection
they didn't feel. Love was quite one-sided as it ought
to be.

So they followed after me, though a long way
behind. Three hours went by and there was no sign
of Duogobmai. The worst midday heat wore off soon
after four. Another village offered hospitality I
wouldn't take. Babu and Kolieva stayed and drank