I FIND MYSELF AMONG ENEMIES.
I was aroused next morning by the bugles sounding _réveillé_ in
the Hausa camp, and, as I came out of the house, I found Fatima
waiting for me with a large calabash of agidi--a kind of thin
porridge--to fortify me for my journey. While I was consuming this
insipid but refreshing food, she went into her house and fetched a
small grass bag filled with masa, which she shyly placed in my hand
and then hurried away before I had time to thank her.
Down at the landing-place, Annan was waiting impatiently with the
carriers, and Aba, who had come to see me off, stood at a little
distance, aloof and haughty, holding no communication with the Fanti
merchant. As I appeared, the carriers and Annan scrambled into the
long ferry canoe, and the ferryman took up his pole and prepared to
push off, so Aba stepped into the unwieldy craft that he might see the
last of me. I showed him the bag of masa, and thanked him and Fatima
for their hospitality, and would have made him a little present, but
when he perceived my intention, he shook his head with such energy,
repeating “Bábu bábu!” and clucking his tongue deprecatingly, that I
desisted and shook him again by the hand.
As the canoe grated on the beach of the north shore, Aba addressed a
few words to Annan as the latter stepped ashore.
“You hear me, David Annan, dis white gentleman my friend. He go wid
you for far bush. Spose you no look him proper, den when you come
back, I ask you, what you do for my friend? You sabby?”
Annan had by this time climbed the steep bank, and now, looking down
at the sergeant, he made a gesture of contempt, remarking that
“scholar man no fit to talk to Sálaga donkor” with which polite
rejoinder he turned away along the road. The carriers followed and,
with a last “good-bye” to Aba, I climbed the bank and hurried after
them.
The road, as I have called it, was a narrow winding track that led at
once into the sombre shadow of the forest. Before I had followed its
sinuous course for five minutes, all trace of the wide river had
vanished, and the bright light of day had given place to a soft green
twilight by which was revealed the most amazing labyrinth of
vegetation that the mind could conceive. On all hands was a confused
tangle of leaves and branches, of ferns and great rope-like creepers,
piled together in riotous luxuriance and shutting out alike the
heavens above and the earth beneath. So indistinct was the trail
amidst all this wealth of vegetation that I had to use the utmost
exertions to avoid losing sight of my companions, who, more accustomed
to such surroundings than I, crashed through the undergrowth at a pace
that I could barely keep up with. The ground was terribly rough, too.
In some places jagged masses of iron-stone projected from the surface,
in others the soil was sodden and boggy; the entire region was a
network of small muddy streams, which here and there spread out into
swamps, and everywhere great coils of snake-like roots sprawled over
the ground and tripped one up at every step. I stumbled on, however,
in spite of all obstacles, wading knee-deep in the swamps and vaulting
over the fallen trees that constantly barred the way; but it was weary
work, and I hailed with relief the sight of a small village, hoping to
get at least a few minutes’ rest.
When we entered the hamlet, and our carriers set down their burdens,
an elderly man came out from behind a house and peremptorily ordered
us to move on. Annan would have argued the matter with him, but the
man--presumably the village headman--pointed to the road and repeated
his command in so angry a tone that there was nothing for it but to
resume our march.
After trudging on for another hour or so, we came out suddenly into
the single wide street of a large village, which I found was called
Attássi Kwánta. Here the attitude of the natives was but little more
friendly than at the village we had passed, for, as we appeared in the
street, we were met by a party of about a dozen men, several of them
armed with muskets, who barred the way while they put a number of
questions to Annan. Their manner was fierce and their looks sullen,
and I could not fail to notice that I was an especial object of
suspicion, for, as they talked, they cast frequent and highly
unfriendly glances at me, and I heard the word “broni” (white man)
repeated several times. Annan, for his part, entered into a lengthy
and voluble explanation, and, as he pointed to me, shrugged his
shoulders and raised his eyebrows; but whether he was assuring them of
my harmlessness or disclaiming all knowledge of and responsibility for
me, I could not make up my mind. What was quite evident, however, was
that he made no particular impression on my behalf for, although we
were permitted to sit down under the shade tree to eat our food, the
men stood round us with a menacing air of watchfulness the whole time,
and when I went to a fire that was smouldering by the roadside to get
an ember for my pipe, two of them came and rudely hustled me away from
it.
The aspect of the village itself was highly suggestive of the
disturbed state of the country. Not a woman or child was to be seen,
and even the men were not much in evidence, although the appearance of
heads now and again protruded round the corners of houses, gave the
impression that the male population was not far off.
Of the men who stood guard over us, some were, as I have said, armed
with muskets, and all wore powder gourds and slug bags, and in several
parts of the village I could see rows of the long Dane guns leaning
against the houses with their lock covers hanging loose, all ready for
use at a moment’s notice.
The instant we had finished our meal the chief motioned to us to go,
and we wearily arose and filed out of the village to resume our march
along the rough track.
This hostility on the part of the natives was extremely disconcerting,
for, although up to the present it had taken only a passive form, it
might at any moment become active, especially as we approached Ashanti
proper, where the people would naturally associate us with their
southern enemies. But still more disturbing to me was the attitude of
Annan, whose manner was hardly more friendly than that of the natives.
It was evident that my detection of his fraud had filled him with
hatred and rage, and Aba’s parting speech had not improved matters,
for, since leaving Pra-su, he had maintained a sullen silence, in
singular contrast to his usual boisterous garrulity, never once
speaking to me except to gruffly refuse some masa which I offered him,
with the remark that he “didn’t eat donkor chop.”
I could not help seeing, too, that my presence was an element of added
danger to our party, and that both he and the carriers would very
gladly be rid of me; so bearing in mind Aba’s warning, I determined to
keep a very sharp eye on my friend David Annan.
We pressed on during the day at a speed that was intolerably
fatiguing, and must have covered fully thirty miles before sunset,
which overtook us just as we reached a village called Akonsírrim. We
had passed several villages during the day, but had not attempted to
halt at them, hurrying through and taking our rest and food in the
forest, as far as possible from any human habitation.
At the entrance to Akonsírrim we were met by a party of armed men,
who appeared to be the only occupants of the place; but, although
their reception of us was grim enough, they were at length prevailed
upon by Annan to permit us to sleep in the village.
A little incident that had occurred during one of our halts had put me
more than ever on my guard. We had seated ourselves by the side of a
small stream to rest and take our afternoon meal, the packages having
been set down by the roadside, and as we sat I thought I could detect
the babbling of a waterfall at no great distance. When I had finished
eating I rose and strolled away into the forest to look for the fall,
but finding the bush impenetrable, returned almost directly. As I came
near the road, I could see our party through an opening in the
foliage, though I was invisible to them, and the first object that
caught my eye was friend Annan busily engaged fitting a key into the
lock of my trunk. He had just succeeded in unfastening it when I saw
him, and having lifted the lid was about to rummage among the
contents; but as I was most anxious that he should not see the bundle
of Hausa clothing, I put an end to his researches by loudly snapping a
twig, upon which he looked round, hastily closed and locked the box,
and went back to the stream, where I found him innocently munching
when I returned.
The sleeping quarters assigned to us at Akonsírrim were in one of the
curious native houses, built, after the Ashanti fashion, on a platform
of clay and having only three walls, the fourth side being open like
the stage of a theatre. In this airy chamber I lay down on a heap of
dry grass that covered the hard clay floor and composed myself as if
for sleep, but although I half closed my eyes, my suspicions of my
companion kept me wide awake. Presently Annan came and lay down at the
other end of the hut; but he did not fall asleep as was his wont, for
although he lay quite still and breathed heavily, I knew that he was
listening to my breathing. I therefore simulated a gentle snore, and
mumbled occasionally as though I were dreaming, and sure enough my
friend began presently to crawl softly across the hut towards me. I
was in doubt now whether I had not better seize him and bang his head
against the wall without more ado, but perceiving by the dim starlight
that his hands were empty, I decided to see what his intentions were
before committing myself. He crept on silently to my side, and, rising
on to his knees, examined me narrowly; then he commenced to stealthily
paw me over until his hand lighted on the bulging caused by the purse
and clasp-knife in my trousers pocket. This was evidently the object
of his search, for, having found it, he began to insinuate his fingers
into the opening of the pocket; but at this point I gave a deep sigh
and turned over, whereupon he scrambled noiselessly across the hut and
lay down once more. He made no attempt to come to me again, and very
soon his resounding snores told me that he was really asleep.
It will be readily understood that I had very little sleep that night,
and in the morning I arose unrefreshed and weary; but it was necessary
to get on the road at once, for the men of the village, considering
that they had seen enough of us, came and conducted us out of their
territory with scant ceremony, nor would they agree to sell us so much
as a single plantain for food. The food question was, indeed, becoming
urgent already, for I had eaten nothing on the previous day but a few
plantains that I had purchased from our carriers (who had brought them
from Pra-su), and one or two masa. I had still a good supply of the
little cakes, but I felt that I ought to keep them for an emergency;
and meanwhile the poor diet was beginning to tell on me, while the
prospect of absolute starvation confronted our party if no one would
sell us food.
These matters I revolved gloomily in my mind as I stumbled along the
rugged path through the solemn, shadowy forest. But more grave than
the food question was the conduct of Annan. Evidently he intended to
rob me and, as Aba had pointed out, nothing would be simpler than for
him to murder me and report that I had been killed by the Ashantis.
All my weapons were sewn up in my bundle, so that I was absolutely
unarmed, while Annan, as I knew, carried a formidable sheath knife.
This state of things I determined to remedy at once as well as I
could, for an emergency might arise at any moment. I had cut myself a
stick on the previous day from a hard-wood sapling, and now,
remembering the very efficient wooden spears of the Australian
natives, I proceeded to trim one end of it to a moderately sharp
point, and so provided myself with a really formidable although
harmless-looking weapon.
We had not been long on the march before I received a disagreeable
hint as to Annan’s intentions towards me. About three hours’ journey
from Akonsírrim the path entered a deep valley, at the bottom of
which was a small stream, and when we had forded this we came to the
foot of a lofty hill, the face of which was so precipitous as to form
a kind of cliff. Up this the path could be traced in a series of
zig-zags among projecting bosses of rock and clumps of bushes. I
rested at the bottom of the cliff until Annan and the carriers had
nearly reached the top, and then commenced the ascent. I was about
half-way when, happening to glance up, I perceived Annan standing
immediately above me and watching my progress. A few moments later I
was startled by a sudden noise overhead, and again looking up, saw a
ponderous mass of iron-stone bounding down the cliff straight on to
me. I had barely time to seize a branch and swing myself aside before
it whizzed by, dislodging in its descent a shower of stones and
smaller fragments. When I reached the summit, Annan was nowhere to be
seen, and it was some minutes before I overtook him striding along
with the carriers down the northern slope of the hill. That he had
rolled the rock down on me I had not the faintest doubt, but as there
was nothing to be gained by taxing him with it I held my peace.
A little further on we came upon a scene that filled me with joy and
hope. In the midst of a small opening by the roadside lay the ashes of
a wood fire, still hot and sending up a tiny thread of smoke, and by
its side three diminutive huts built of grass and leaves fastened to
central upright sticks. The still smouldering ashes told us that the
travellers who had encamped here had left but recently and, as we had
not met them, they must be travelling in the same direction as
ourselves; while the familiar beehive shape of the huts showed that
the strangers were not forest people (who always build square
shelters) but Hausas or Moslem travellers from the far north.
Our carriers stirred up the embers and laid on them the few remaining
plantains to roast for the midday meal, and while this simple cooking
was proceeding they sat round the fire and talked earnestly with
Annan, taking no notice of me; but I caught the word _broni_ several
times, and from this and from occasional glances in my direction I
surmised that I was the subject of their conversation.
This debate received a sudden and violent interruption, for in one of
the pauses in their conversation there was heard the sound of
something moving softly through the underwood behind them. The
startled carriers all sprang up together, and instantly the woods rang
with a loud explosion and the shriek of scattering slugs, and one of
our men leaped into the air with a loud yell and fell to the ground.
A perfect pandemonium followed. Annan and the remaining carriers
danced about, screeching and gesticulating like maniacs, while an
almost equal hubbub came from the unseen foe. After a time the yells
subsided into mere shouting, and I gathered that our people were
giving an explanation to their invisible assailants, for they pointed
first to the wounded carrier--who lay on the ground groaning, with his
hand clapped on to his thigh--and then to me; and the explanation
appeared to satisfy the warriors, for presently, as the shouting
ceased, we could hear the men moving away through the undergrowth, and
a minute later I saw them, nine in number, cross the path at a little
distance, each with his long musket muzzle downwards over his
shoulder.
They had hardly disappeared when our carriers gathered round me with
an angry clamour, and Annan strode up and shook his fist in my face,
showing his teeth and gibbering like an excited monkey.
“You dam ogly white nigger!” he shouted. “You make all dis palaver.
All dis country people want to kill us cos you come wid us to spy deir
country. But you no fit trouble us much more. Soon de hasses pick your
bones and den palaver finish.” He spat on the ground, and the
carriers, who understood not a word of this excepting that it was
abuse of me, groaned in chorus.
Suddenly the wounded man, forgetting his injury, sprang up and,
grabbing a lump of quartz, rushed at me, roaring and gnashing his
teeth; but I received him with such a poke in the chest from my
pointed stick that he dropped the stone and fell, bellowing louder
than ever, with a thin trickle of blood flowing from the spot where
the point had penetrated. On this the others fell back a pace or two,
not liking my looks, and stood round, grinning and chattering like
apes, while I paused for an instant undecided whether to charge them
or remain on the defensive. At this moment Annan came to his senses
and interfered.
“Dis no good,” he exclaimed. “Softly, softly you catch de monkey.
Finish palaver and come on.”
The carriers sulkily caught up their burdens and started, but it
happened that the wounded man--who was very little hurt, after
all--was the one to whom my trunk had been allotted, and, as he was
now not fit to carry it, Annan bluntly informed me that, if I wanted
it, I must carry it myself; and, angry as I was, I could not help
perceiving that it would chime in very well with my plans to have the
trunk in my own custody, so without more ado I clapped the head pad on
top of my hat, and catching up the trunk, balanced it on my head as
well as I could and followed. The ground continued to descend gently,
and, as the path was a little more open at this part, we got on at a
good pace, the wounded man limping along in fine style, and evidently
rejoicing at having shifted his burden on to me. We presently entered
a small village which appeared to be quite deserted, and our carriers
halted and were just about to open an attack upon a plantation of
plantains and papaw trees at its farther end, when we observed one or
two men peering at us round the corners of the houses; on which they
picked up their loads and hurried out of the village as if they had
seen the devil.
The road continuing fairly distinct, I dropped behind a little to
escape from the incessant chatter that Annan and the carriers kept up,
in spite of the danger by which we were surrounded, and I frequently
lost sight of our little caravan for some minutes at a time,
overtaking them again when a fallen tree or other obstruction brought
them to a temporary halt. I had separated in this manner and was
walking along lost in thought, when a turn of the path brought me in
view of our party all standing stock still and sniffing the air like
dogs. At the same moment I became aware of a faint, stale and
indescribably disagreeable odour which seemed to come from the forest
ahead of us. As we proceeded it grew rapidly more powerful and was
soon insupportably offensive, evidently proceeding from some
putrifying animal matter. I surmised that some large animal had died
in the bush and that the smell proceeded from its decaying remains,
but my companions evidently had an inkling of the truth, for they
stepped warily and fearfully along the track. Suddenly the path opened
out into a large village clearing, and, as we emerged from the forest,
a cloud of vultures arose and settled in the trees, from which they
looked down with hoarse cries upon the horrid scene of desolation
below.
In all the village there was not a single house left standing. Some
were reduced to mere shapeless heaps of blackened ruins, while in
others the charred skeleton of a roof yet rested on the scorched and
cracked clay walls. The compound fences were reduced to lines of
ashes; cooking pots stood over extinct fires; and half-burnt stools
and wooden utensils lay scattered about among the ruins. And
everywhere--in the streets, in the compounds, and by the ruined
houses--the ground was literally strewn with corpses. In every
attitude of death, in every stage of decay and dismemberment; bloated
by the heat, shrivelled by the sun, hacked at by vultures, torn limb
from limb by wild beasts: the loathsome harvest of war lay poisoning
the air with the stale and horrid effluvium. Glossy-coated carrion
beetles crept busily over them, swarms of flies hummed in the air
above them, and, in one place, a broad shining stream of driver ants
flowed through the village like a river of jet, leaving in its track
clean-picked skeletons already bleached to the whiteness of chalk.
As we stood surveying these dreadful relics, the vultures began to
drop down by twos and threes, watching us warily as they snapped up
their grisly morsels; and when we moved up the village and came round
a pile of ruins, we disturbed at their ghastly meal a troop of
hyænas, which shuffled away and stood at a little distance with their
shoulders hunched up, grinning at us and snarling with titters of
idiotic laughter.
The village had been very completely looted by the enemy, but we
found, nevertheless, in the remains of the plantation, a few bunches
of plantains, and one or two half-rotten papaws, and, having secured
these, we stole stealthily and guiltily out of the village and hurried
away along the road, not a little affected by the awful spectacle we
had witnessed.
It was now past midday, and I began to consider very earnestly how and
where I was to pass the night, for I had definitely made up my mind
that I would not spend it in the society of Annan and his gang of
ruffians. It was now clear that they were of one mind in their desire
to be rid of me, and it was equally evident that Annan had already
appointed himself my sole executor and legatee. This being the case,
it would be obvious madness for me to trust myself asleep in their
company, and I had now to settle on the manner in which I should
escape from them and yet find my way to my destination.
I had turned over various plans, none of them very satisfactory, and
was wondering whether the travellers whose huts we had passed in the
morning were far ahead, and if it would be possible for me to put on a
spurt and overtake them, when the question was solved for me by the
appearance of the men themselves. We came upon them quite suddenly,
for they had made a fire some little distance off the road and were
sitting by it roasting plantains--the only food obtainable just
now--so that we did not see them until we came opposite their halting
place. There were eight of them, all grown men, and dressed in the
fashion common to the Hausas and other more civilised nations of the
Southern Sudan.
Our party halted opposite the encampment, and Annan stepped forward a
few paces and greeted the strangers in his barbarous Hausa.
“Sanu, Sanu!”
“Sanu kadai,” replied a little sharp-faced elderly man, apparently the
leader of the caravan.
“Whither do you travel?” inquired Annan.
“We are journeying from Salt-pond to Kantámpo, and thence to our
country, Kano, by way of Sálaga,” said the old man.
“This country is very unsafe to travel in at this time,” remarked
Annan.
“That is true,” agreed the other.
“But it is more safe for a large company than a small one,” pursued
Annan.
“That is also true,” said the Hausa.
“Therefore,” continued Annan, “since we go the same way as you, it
will be safer if we travel in company.”
“Not so,” replied the old man. “We are strangers from afar, merchants
and men of peace. We have no quarrel with this people nor they with
us, and so we journey in safety. But you are men of this country who
have here your friends and your enemies. It is better for us to go our
ways apart.”
“You fear to walk with us because of the white man who is with us,”
said Annan.
“We do not want to travel with Nasaráwa[_Christians._],” rejoined the
old man.
“But he is a stranger to us,” Annan urged. “We will send him away to
walk by himself.”
“It is not good to desert a companion in the wilderness,” said the
Hausa coldly. “I have answered thee. We shall walk by ourselves.”
“The road is open to all!” bawled Annan insolently, “and we may walk
where you may, either before you or behind, as near or as far as we
will.”
“That is true,” said the old man drily, “but the mouse who will walk
with an elephant must needs look to his toes.”
Here occurred a kind of pantomimic commentary on the old Hausa’s
remark, at which I could hardly forbear laughing aloud, for one of the
men who had been reclining by the fire now rose and stretched himself,
and reaching his spear from the tree against which it rested, stirred
the embers with its heel iron. There was nothing very warlike in the
action, but the appearance of the actor gave it a deep significance,
for the fellow stood well over six feet six inches in height and was
square and massive in build, and the spear that he used thus
harmlessly was a great shaft seven feet long furnished with a blade
like the paddle of a canoe.
The hint was not lost on Annan who, after an astonished glance at the
giant, rejoined civilly enough:
“Let it be as you will, and so I wish you a safe journey and a speedy
one.”
The Hausas returned his good wishes in chorus, and, as we turned to go
on our way and I waved my hand to them, they bowed politely, and the
jolly, smiling giant called out to me to “tafia sanu” in an
extraordinarily small and squeaky voice.
I had now to set my wits to work in earnest, for, by hook or by crook,
I must attach myself to the Hausa caravan before nightfall. We were
evidently travelling more rapidly than the Hausas, but I calculated
that they would pass us the next time we halted, and would be
overtaken by our party in the morning. I must therefore wait until
they had passed us, before joining them, in case they should decline
my company as they had declined Annan’s. It now remained to invent a
story sufficiently plausible to account for my appearance without
companions on this perilous and solitary road, and I am free to admit
that, not being an expert liar, the concoction of this fable heavily
taxed my ingenuity.
It was half-past three by my watch when Annan called a halt and
immediately began to make a fire to roast plantains on. He completely
ignored my presence, as did also the carriers, so, as I did not choose
to ask his permission to roast my plantains, and as he would probably
have refused if I had, I contented myself with a couple of masa and
then lit my pipe.
We had not halted more than a quarter of an hour when the Hausa
caravan passed, and I noticed that each man carried a spear as a
walking staff, and that three of the men had guns lashed lightly to
their loads. They saluted us courteously enough in passing, but did
not stop to talk, and I was glad to see that they obtained a start of
fully three-quarters of an hour before we resumed our journey.
As soon as we were on the road again I began to watch for a chance to
escape without being noticed, and it was not very long before an
opportunity occurred. At a part of the road where the forest was
densest, two gigantic trees had fallen across one another so that the
way was completely stopped. When I came in sight of the obstruction,
Annan had already climbed to the top, and as he stood up preparatory
to helping one of the carriers to ascend, he sank in up to the middle
of his thighs, for the tree had been eaten out by the white ants until
it was a mere spongy mass of tinder.
I set my trunk down on the path and waited while the carriers
laboriously climbed up the rotten barrier and hauled their loads up
with the aid of those below, and I watched them hand the burdens down
on the other side; and, when the last of them had leaped down without
a glance in my direction, I clambered up half-way and peered over at
them. The path ran straight ahead for some distance and they hurried
along it without looking back; presently they came to a bend in the
road, and, one by one, passed out of sight; and as the last man
vanished, I jumped down and addressed myself to my task.
In a moment I had the trunk open and the bundle out on the road. I
rummaged hastily among the other contents, but found nothing worth
taking with me but an old woollen shawl, so, closing the trunk again,
I locked it and twisted the key off in the lock, and then, catching up
the bundle and the shawl, started back along the path at a run.
A little distance back I had noticed what appeared to be a faint track
leading into the forest, and I now ran back until I reached this
track, and, having found it, turned down it and ran as fast as the
dense undergrowth would let me. I was surprised to find that it grew
more distinct as I went on and it presently became quite a
well-defined path. When I had run along it for some ten minutes, I
turned off into the forest and pushed through the undergrowth until I
was stopped by the great buttressed roots of an immense silk-cotton
tree which towered up above me like some monumental column. In the
angle between two of these buttresses I laid down the bundle, and,
with my clasp knife, quickly ripped open the stitching and exposed my
treasures to view.
The first thing to do was to shave, for, when I decided to make the
journey, I had begun to let my beard grow, and it was now an inch and
a half long and very stubbly. I had in the bundle one of those little
folding pocket mirrors that are so extensively sold to the natives in
West Africa, which I fixed to the tree by sticking my knife through
the wire loop; and then taking my razor, mowed away at the dry stubble
until the tears ran down my cheeks. But the next operation was worse,
for my hair had to come off too, and, by the time I had got my scalp
bare, my bald blue pate was covered with scratches and smeared with
blood.
The rest, however, was plain sailing. In a twinkling I had stripped
off my clothes and donned the vest, the baggy trousers and the long
flowing _riga_, jammed the red cap upon my bald knob of a head and
twisted round it the turban and face-cloth, and thrust my pale,
naked-looking feet into the yellow slippers.
My toilet wanted now but the finishing touches, and these I proceeded
to apply. A little leather flask (or stibium case) containing powdered
antimony, and a slender copper rod, were among my possessions. With
the rod I dipped up a little of the powder and drew it along my
eyelashes, totally changing the expression of my eyes, as I discovered
by examining them in the mirror. I next dyed my finger nails with some
of the red stain that the forethought of Pereira had provided, hung
round my neck a saffi, or amulet, that I found in the bundle, and I
was complete. Lastly, I gathered up my few possessions--the compass,
spear-irons, mirror, revolver, cartridge box, and burning glass and
dropped them into the huge pocket of my _riga_ and added to them my
watch and chain, purse and clasp knife.
I stood for a moment looking down at my discarded clothes, much as a
toad surveys his newly shed skin. The toad, indeed, had the advantage
of me, for when he has peeled off his outgrown integument, he frugally
rolls it into a ball and swallows it, so that nothing is wasted. As
for me, I must needs leave my cast-off vestments to decay in the
forest, and, as I picked up my stick and shawl and turned to go, I
looked at them with a ludicrous feeling of regret. There they lay in
the angle of the great root-buttresses, seeming to wait for me to come
back; a pair of down-at-heel boots and toeless socks, a shabby suit of
clothes, and a battered hat--a sorry enough collection, but all that
was left of Richard Englefield.