386 THE EXPLORATION OF THE NIGER I said, "you will warn Modido that if the Toucouleur column camps in or near his village, in which he declined to receive us, it will mean war with us.' " Oh ! " cried Osman in his dismay, "the whole column will not come, only the chiefs, with Ahmidu Ahmadu, the leader of the troops." Then he tried to undo what he had done, and told quite a different story, saying he had been mistaken ; Saturu would go and give the benediction to the column on the bank near Djerma.

We were warned now ; a big column really was assembled. We made discreet inquiries on every side, and all the news we heard confirmed the fact. Pullo himself now ventured to be explicit, and told us to be on our guard.

The palm of deception and treason must be given in this case to a Fulah from Massina, called Ahmadu Mumi, but we were the ones to reap the benefit of his evil-doing. Born in the village of Mumi, near Mopti, on the Niger, all his people had been killed by the Toucouleurs when EI Hadj Omar won his great victory. He himself had been taken prisoner, and dragged behind the horses of his captors to Say, where, bruised, bleeding, and in rags, he was sold. Of course, as a natural consequence, he hated the Toucouleurs with an intense and bitter hatred, but he was later bought by the chief of Say, who set him free.

He became the confidant and friend of his liberator, so that, as he explained to us, he knew better than any one else what was going on, and was therefore better able to betray Saturu.

He did betray him too, for a high price, revealing to us all the preparations our enemies were making against us.

Amadu, it appeared, aided by the chief of Say, had rallied every one all round to his standard, and to win over the lukewarm, vague hints were thrown out of going to get