242 JOURNEY WITHOUT MAPS

and the other carriers, and he was uneasy about the
great man at Tapee. He was a wicked man, he said,
"Will he make trouble for massa?" I wasn't at all
sure that he mightn't. The Liberians were under the
impression that I was travelling only in the Western
Province, and here I was, a long way to the east, in
the Central Province. I had no proper papers: my
Liberian visa only gave me permission to land at
accredited ports.

I was a little uneasy. I hadn't met Colonel Davis
then and I think I pictured him as something rather
ferocious in the manner of Emperor Christophe. I
couldn't help remembering the Blue Book phrases;
the murdered children, the women in the burning
huts, Nimley's pathetic dignity, "And when I learnt
that Colonel Davis had fought with Tiempoh, who
are my children . . ." It certainly did seem to me
that there might be trouble.

I was more uneasy still when we came in sight of
the District Commissioner's compound (the town of
Tapee lay beyond). It was an impressive group of
verandahed bungalows behind a stockade with an
armed sentry at every gate, and the Liberian flag fly-
ing from a staff in the middle. Although it was time
for siesta, there seemed to be a lot of movement;
many things were going on. From the journalist's
point of view, I seemed to have come at a favourable
moment, but from the Liberian point of view I
couldn't help feeling that I must look very like a spy
(the moment was too opportune to be accidental) as I
led my odd caravan round the stockade to the main
gate.