I am correct or not. Believe? I see us gliding
down by tower and town, and my mind will
not permit a shadow of doubt. Good night,
my boy! Good night! and may happy dreams
of the sea, and ships, and pleasure, and comfort,
and success attend you in your sleep! Tomorrow,
my lad, is the day we shall cry—
‘Victory or death!’ ”
CHAPTER VII.
Farewell to Tippu-Tib— Attacked from both banks— The fat
savage takes a bad shot at me— The Lowwa river— In the
home of the elephants— Insect life— Katembo, our cannibal
interpreter: triumphs o f eloquence.— A storm on the river
New Year’s Day— Bullets against spears— “ Sennenneh!”
— Tempting the female mind— The reward o f a good deed
A river armada: crocodile boats— Betwixt cataracts.and
cannibals.
(D e cem b e r 28, 1876— J an u a ry 3, 1877.)
The crisis drew high when the 28th December
dawned. A grey mist hung over the river, so
dense that we could not see even the palmy banks
on which Vinya-Njara was situated. It would have
been suicidal to begin our journey on such a
gloomy morning. The people appeared as cheerless
and dismal as the foggy day. We cooked
our breakfasts in order to see if, by the time
we had fortified the soul by satisfying the cravings
of the stomach, the river and its shores
might not have resumed their usual beautiful
outlines, and their striking contrasts of light and
shadow.
Slowly the breeze wafted the dull and heavy
mists away until the sun appeared, and bit by
bit the luxuriantly wooded banks rose up solemn