liquid loads in heavy bodies. Streams soon coursed through
the camp. All about was in darkness, inundation, and
misery.
By midnight the strength of the storm was spent. The
power of the angry heavens had passed away, and the wind
whispered lower and lower until its voice was stilled to
breathless repose.
Tired out and well soaked we all sank to sleep amidst the
saturated grass and blankets, awaking now and then as the
water would trickle to some yet undiscovered spot. Under
the gleam of the sheets of lightning which still blazed in
the wake of the running storm we could see each other at
times. How uncomfortable, but how comical! Miller moved
beneath a small hayrick of his own. M. Giraud marched
on the brink of the river, his clothes clinging to his body so
closely that he might have had none from all appearances.
Mosquitoes followed him in myriads, for now they held the
camp. As for myself I was sitting over my journal like a
brood h e n ; holding up an old parasol of brown holland
which had been brought from Tette, and which I tried to
imagine was of some use in alleviating distress. Beneath its
cover the tiny winged tormentors played and sung, drawing
me involuntarily into their little game.
My eyes, however, were fixed on the east, and my
thoughts dwelt upon sunshine. Time soon ran off with
another night. At length aurora rose and dispelled the
darkness. Over the vast tract a snow-white mist was
hanging, resembling great volumes of escaping steam. It
smothered the little camp with its wet embrace. This
soft white veil soon began to rise, clearer and clearer
grew the eastern horizon, until the break of the glad day
brought the long-looke.d-for sunlight.
“ Come along, Fred,” said I ; “ we must be off soon,”
All the boys needed stirring to life, for they had crept
into their palm sleeping-bags (furriba), which look like wide
flat sacks of plaited leaves, at once affording shelter from
rain, mist, and mosquitoes. Once the boys were on their
feet the work of bailing out the canoes was begun.
“ Hillo, some things overboard during the n ig h t! Where
are those elephants’ and other tails that lay on the top ? ”
“ I tink the wind take away everyting in the night,”
answers the shrewd Fred.
My trophies were few before, but now they were reduced
still further.
“ Where is the rice given us by Govea ? ”
“ Here.” We open the two palm bags, and much to our
amazement and chagrin find that it is unhusked, and therefore
useless until we could reach some village where it
could be cleaned. Here was a mischievous mistake !
We tried to get something to warm us, but not a dry stick
was to be found. Any of us would have made Faust’s
bargain, in order to get a bit of firewood.
More pain, more misery ! The only consolation was that
we would soon have the poor man’s blanket, as the Mexicans
call the sun. Some of the boys dived off the banks, heedless
of crocodiles, in order to fetch floating pumpkins.
Supplies which the victorious army had not wanted had
been thrown into the river, which was thus bearing away the
harvest of the Mazinjiri gardens. To us it was as the
manna from heaven. The canoes were bailed, loaded with
the unusual spoils of war, and were soon under weigh,
southwards.