as ill as possibile

[Sukhomvit]

Quoted from Out of Africa by I. Dinensen

"There was a shadow cast over my friendship with Berkeley by the circumstance that Jama, his young Somali servant, was of a tribe at war with Farah’s tribe. To people familiar with the clannish feelings of the Somali, those dark deep desert glances that were exchanged over our dinner table, when the two were waiting on Berkeley and me, bode as ill as possible."

Please tell me what is meaning of as ill as possible. Does it means "very ill"? Thanks for your help.

 

[Rover_KE]

You can't separate 'bode' from that expression.

'bode ill' means 'predicted evil' or 'foretold disaster'.

'... those dark deep desert glances ... were bad omens — as bad as they could be'.