| caption: |
Chapter Twelve. Towards Unknown Country |
| caption: |
dining at Mills bungalow with Major Williams; dangers of trip |
| text: |
Mills was already in Mokokchung, and Major Williams, the commander of the escort, arrived that same evening. We all dined together in Smith's bungalow, and discussed the prospects of the tour. Rumours of the attitude of the hostile tribes, spreading from village to village, had reached Mokokchung and created great excitement among the dobashi and porters. There was not a man among them who doubted that there would be a fight -- in fact, they did not hope for anything else. Mills, Major Williams, Smith, and myself did not quite share the enthusiasm of the Nagas and we discussed the best method of defence against a sudden attack. The narrow jungle-paths lend themselves admirably to the Nagas' special form of ambush; an enemy can come within a few yards of you completely unseen, and then even the strongest escort is not much protection. |
