Page 7 - Adventures in Africa

ADVENTURES IN AFRICA,

C H A P T E R I.

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“ H ow many more days, Jan, will it be before we

get across this abominable desert?" I asked of our
black guide, as we trudged along, he leading our

sole remaining ox, ^vhile my unde, Mr. Roger Farley,
and I led our two horses laden with the remnants ot
our property,

“ May be ten days, may be two ten/' answered Jan
Jigger, whose knowledge of numerals was somewhat
limited.

I gave a groan, for I was footsore and weary, and
expected to have had a more satisfactory answer.
W e were making our way over a light-coloured soft

sand, sprinkled in some places with tall grass, rising
in tufts, with bare spots between them. In other

parts were various creeping plants, and also— though
I called the region a desert— there were extensive
patches of bushes, above which here and there rose

clumps of trees of considerable height. This large
amount of vegetation, however, managed to exist
without streams or pools, and for miles and miles
is
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