wives, his brother, who was sleeping in an adjoining hut, his young son, and three of his most trust-worthy servants, and took to flight. On the way to the river-bank Kapella had called upon Westbeech, and informed him of the desperate step he was driven to take; and he, ever a friend in need, had supplied him with ammunition and a number of necessaries for the journey.
Taking possession of the first two canoes they could find, the fugitives hurried down the stream, and while it was still dark found themselves twenty miles away from Sesheke; here they landed, sent their boats adrift, and proceeded on foot towards the Masupia settlement above Impalera. This was under the jurisdiction of a brother of Makumba’s, a staunch ally of Sepopo’s; but Kapella hoped to reach the place while the natives were still in bed, and to make use of their boats to cross the Chobe. It was a most difficult journey; the passage through the reeds was in some places dangerous in the extreme, and Kapella would never have risked it but in the greatest emergency. However, nothing went amiss, and the party all arrived safely before dawn; but early as it was, some of the Masupia fishermen were already on the move. Terrified at the sight of two armed chiefs, and probably recognizing who they were, they water-logged their canoes, and ran off to raise an alarm in the town. This was Kapella’s opportunity; quick as thought he had the canoes dragged to land, emptied them of the water, and made use of them to ferry his party to the opposite shore.
The chieftain, on hearing what had occurred, took no immediate action. He was aware that Kapella
