Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/523

 travels now fo far advanced, to childish vanity. I determined therefore to abandon my gold chain, the honourable recompence of a day full of fatigue and danger. Whom to intrust it to was the next consideration; and, upon mature deliberation, I found it could be to nobody but Hagi Belal, bad as I had reason to think, he was. However, to put a check upon him, I sent for the Sid el Coom, in whose presence I repeated my accusation against Belal; I read the Seraff's letter in my favour, and the several letters that Belal had written me whilst I was at Gondar, declaring his acceptance of the order to furnish me with money when I should arrive at Sennaar; and I upbraided him in the strongest terms with duplicity and breach of faith.

But all that I could fay was very far short of the violent expostulation from the Gindi that immediately followed. He gave Hagi Belal many not obscure hints, "that he looked upon this injury as done to himself, and would repay him; that though he had done this to please the king, the time might not be far off when that favour would be of very little use to him; on the contrary, might be a reason for stripping him of all he had in the world." The force of these arguments seemed to strike Hagi Belal's imagination very powerfully. He even offered to advance 50 sequins, and to see if he could raise any more among his friends. The Gindi (a rare instance in that country) offered to lend him fifty. But the dye was now cast, the chain had been produced and seen, and it was become exceedingly dangerous to carry such a quantity of gold in any shape along with me. I therefore consented to sell it to Hagi Belal in presence of the Gindi, and we immediately fet about the purchase of necessaries, with this proviso, that if Adelan,