In the result a meeting of all the headmen was held, which was attended by thousands of the people.

Godfrey spoke through his interpreter, saying that in this great war the King of England required their help, and generally set out the objects of his mission, remarks that were received in respectful silence.

Then Alulu spoke, devoting himself chiefly to an attack upon the Christian faith and on the interference of the white teacher with their customs, that, he observed, had resulted in their ancestral spirits cursing them with the worst drought they had experienced for years, which in the circumstances he, Alulu, could and would do nothing to alleviate.

How could they fight and work for the Great King when their stomachs were pinched with hunger owing to the witchcraft and magical rites which the white teacher celebrated in the church?
"How, indeed ?" shouted the heathen section, although in fact their season had been very good; while the Christians, feeling themselves in a minority, were silent.
Then the Chief, Jaga, spoke.

He traversed all the arguments of Alulu, whom he denounced in no measured terms, saying that he was plotting against him.