"I see that," he said; "but I must carry you till we get to water."
"But you have not strength enough," I said.
"Try me," he answered, and insisted on taking me on his back; and,
though I was fully as heavy as he was, he managed to carry me with far
greater ease than I should have supposed possible.
We were soon making our way through the forest, which was more open than
it had appeared at a distance. It contained a great variety of trees,
few of which I had ever seen before. Many bore fruit and nuts, which
Selim told me would furnish us with an ample supply of food. Among them
were several shea-trees, from which vegetable butter is prepared; the
fruit greatly resembling a large olive.
At length we caught sight of water glittering amid the green foliage.
Selim staggered on towards it, though his strength was well-nigh giving
way. It was a comparatively narrow stream, running, we supposed, into
the main river which we wished to reach. We had great difficulty in
making our way amid the tangled foliage which grew on its banks; but at
last we succeeded in finding a tree which had fallen into the water, and
by scrambling along it we were able to reach the edge of the stream.
"We must take care not to be picked off by any passing crocodile,"
observed Selim. "Stay, I will get a long stick, and, by splashing it in
the water, we shall soon drive the creatures away, should any be near."
He did as he proposed, and then we stooped down without fear and took an
ample draught to satisfy our burning thirst.
I quickly felt a beneficial effect from sitting with my feet in the
stream and cooling them, Selim carefully beating the surface all the
time; and being much refreshed, we soon returned to a more open part of
the forest, where we sat down to rest, and to satisfy our hunger with
the dates I had in my shirt, and some fruit which Selim collected. He
also got some large leaves, possessing, he said, healing qualities;
these he bound round my feet, and they produced even a more soothing
effect than the water had done. Soon, relieved of pain, I felt
excessively drowsy; and Selim promising to keep watch, in a few seconds
I was fast asleep.
When I awoke I found that the day was far advanced. Selim had been
busy, in the meantime, in making me a hat with palm leaves--which, he
said, I greatly required to shield my head from the sun. He had also,
from the same material, manufactured a pair of slippers, which assisted
to protect my feet, though they could not defend them altogether from
the thorns which lay on the ground.
Knowing that he must be in need of sleep, I told him that I would watch
while he got some rest. He acknowledged that he should be very glad of
it; and in a few seconds he was fast asleep. I sat with his carbine in
my hand, ready to fire at any wild beast which might approach us; but
happily none came near. And in a couple of hours or less Selim awoke,
and declared that he was quite able to proceed.
Our first object was to gain the bank of the river, to look out for
Halliday and Ben, whom we hoped might have found their way to it.
Though I still walked with difficulty, I managed to get along. We had
not gone far when Selim observed a tree from which, he said, the people
in his country were accustomed to manufacture bows.
"I must make one at once," he observed; "it will save our ammunition--
which will serve to defend us from human foes or wild beasts, while we
can shoot small birds or animals with arrows."
He quickly cut off a branch which he fixed on for the purpose, and as we
walked along he began to shape it with his knife.
We had followed the course of the stream, which, as we caught glimpses
of it through the trees, widened considerably. We had now arrived near
the point where the stream joined the larger river, but both of us felt
that we could go no further. We had still a good supply of dates, and
Selim quickly collected some fruit, which enabled us to satisfy our
hunger. We then cut down a number of saplings and a quantity of
branches, with which we constructed a hut between the buttressed roots
of a gigantic baobab-tree, with a strong barricade in front. Here we
hoped to rest more securely than we had done for a long time, as we
could not be attacked in the rear, and we believed that no wild beast
would attempt to break through it; then, as we had met with no traces of
inhabitants, we consequently did not expect to be attacked by human
beings. We had our hut completed before dark; and in the meantime Selim
managed to collect a number of reeds for arrows, and the strong fibre of
a plant to twist into a bow-string. We had thus plenty of occupation--
till night coming on compelled us to retire within our hut, and build up
the barricade in front of it.
When I awoke in the morning, I found that Selim had completed his bow
and arrows; so as soon as we had breakfasted on our remaining stock of
provisions we set out towards the bank of the main river. It should be
understood that we were on the eastern side of the stream. We had not
gone far down it when, coming to an opening amid the numerous trees
which lined its banks, I caught sight of a human figure moving, at some
distance off, on the opposite shore. Telling Selim, in a whisper, what
I had seen, I dragged him behind a tree, from whence we could look out
and observe the stranger. We eagerly watched him; and presently we saw
him joined by two other persons.
"Why," exclaimed Selim, "they are our friends!"
"If so, Boxall must be with them," I said joyfully.
The uncertain light of the forest had before prevented me from
distinguishing them; but as we made our way to the bank I was convinced
that Selim was right. They had their backs turned towards us, and were
proceeding westward, or down the river. We shouted to them; but our
voices were lost amid the forest, or they did not recognise them, for
they hurried on, and were soon lost to sight.
Fearing that we should miss them altogether, we now determined to swim
the stream--without reflecting on the dangers we might run. Selim
fastened his bundle of arrows and my pistol on his head, and lifting his
carbine and bow in one hand, he boldly struck out. I followed his
example; but, laden though he was, he swam better than I did. Happily
the stream was not very rapid, and a draught of water which I took as I
swam across contributed to restore my strength; so in a few minutes we
were on the opposite bank.
Losing no time in shaking the water from our clothes, we hurried on,
shouting to our friends. Again we caught sight of them. They looked
round, and seeing us coming, hurried towards us.
The meeting, as we all grasped each other's hands, was indeed a happy
one. But how Boxall had fallen in with them I could not conceive.
A few words, however, sufficed to explain how it had happened. It was
he, as we had supposed, whom we had seen at the water-hole; and the
tribe among whom he was a captive had, like many others, travelled south
to worship at the shrine of the saint. A far greater intimacy than
usual had taken place between the people of the different camps which at
that period had assembled in the neighbourhood, and he thus came to hear
that three Englishmen were held in slavery by Sheikh Hamed. He of
course guessed that we were the persons spoken of, and resolved to
communicate with us, though he knew that he ran a great risk of being
severely punished should he be discovered. He took the opportunity,
while all the men in his camp were worshipping at the shrine of the
saint, to wander as far away as he could venture without creating
suspicion in the minds of those who might be watching him, in the hope
of meeting with one of us, or with some of our people who might give him
information and take a message from him. He had proceeded further than
was prudent, when, as it happened, a party of our Arabs returning to the
camp caught sight of him, and supposing, from his white skin and dress,
that he was one of us, seized and bound him, and carried him off as a
prisoner. His capture, as he afterwards learned, was observed by a
shepherd and some boys of his own camp, who carried back intelligence of
what had occurred.
Fortunately, Ben, who was outside our camp, met the party, and
recognising Boxall, claimed him as a friend; telling him, without loss
of time, of our intention of escaping. This made Boxall--who had been
well treated by his captors, and expected to be liberated on his return
to the north--abandon his resolution of going back to them, if he could
escape from our camp. He pretended, therefore, to be well satisfied
with his change of masters, and--as was really the case--to be delighted
at finding an old friend. The Arabs, being thus deceived, believed that
there was no necessity for watching him, and gave him over without
hesitation into Ben's charge.
Now, as I had left the camp secretly, it was not known by the people
generally, and especially by the women, that I was absent, and Ben
calculated rightly that Boxall would be mistaken for me. He accordingly
conducted him boldly into the camp, where they soon found Halliday; and
it was agreed that as soon as night came on they should all three make
their escape together. This they had done; and having supplied
themselves with food and some leathern bottles filled with water, they
had pushed on during the night and the whole of the next day, till they
reached the shelter of the wood. Arriving at the very stream we had
discovered, and supposing that they would find us on the western side,
they had crossed it, and had been waiting the whole day in expectation
of our arrival.
Boxall had gone through numerous adventures; but having been fortunate
enough to cure some of the sheikh's family and several other persons by
practising the slight knowledge of medicine he possessed, he had been
held in high estimation, and had gained the confidence of the sheikh and
all the chief people,--so that he had had few of the irksome duties to
perform which had fallen to our lot.
I now fondly hoped that, with Boxall as our leader, though we might have
many difficulties to encounter, we should be able to overcome them, and
finally reach the sea. We all agreed, however, that, from the direction
the caravans had taken, we must still be at a considerable distance from
it, and that we should certainly have a long voyage to perform on the
river.
"No matter how long it is," exclaimed Ben in a confident tone; "if we
can get a few planks under our feet, and a bit of canvas for a sail,
with Mr Boxall as captain, we'll do it!"