Page 40 - Adventures in Africa

A t the end of two days I fancied myself better.

W e accordingly determined the next morning to re­
commence our journey. A t daybreak we breakfasted
on the remains of the last deer shot, and my uncle

having placed me on his horse, which was the
stronger of the two, put part of its cargo on the
other. Pushing on, we soon left behind the camp we

had so long occupied.
On starting I bore the movement pretty well, and

fancied that I should be able to perform the journey
without difficulty. For the first two days, indeed, we
got on better than I had expected, though I was thank­

ful when the time for camping arrived. On the third
morning I suffered much, but did not tell my uncle
how ill I felt, hoping that I should recover during the

journey. AVe had a wild barren tract to cross, almost
as wild as the desert. The ox trudged on as patiently
as ever, but the horses were very wTeak, and I had

great difficulty in keeping mine on its legs. Several
times it had stumbled, but I was fortunately not

thrown off. Our pace, however, was necessarily very
slow, and we could discover no signs of water, yet
water we must reach before we could venture to camp.

Jan generally led the ox, while my uncle walked
by my side, holding the rein of the other horse.

Again and again my poor animal had stumbled;
when, as my uncle was looking another way, down
it came, and I was thrown with considerable violence

to the ground.
M y uncle, having lifted me up, I declared that I

was not much hurt, and begged him to replace me
on the horse, The poor animal was unable to rise.