40 AFRICAN ADVENTURE STORIES 



We made the tent boys and gun bearers each 

 a boss of every ten men. It was their duty to 

 watch the lazy fellows and keep them at work. 

 These gangs were placed far enough apart so as 

 not to interfere with each other, and in a few 

 minutes everything was working finely. 



It was fully two hundred yards from the river 

 on one side of the camp to the Nile on the other, 

 and quick work was necessary to complete the 

 task before the fire should reach us. All but 

 the worthless blacks realised the danger. They 

 seemed to care little whether the camp burned, 

 although they must have known that their sup- 

 ply of food would go with it. 



One fellow was found peacefully sleeping in 

 his hut long after the others were at work, and 

 he refused to come out until he was dragged out. 

 He gazed at the approaching fire, yawned, and 

 said, "Oh, the fire is a long way off; there is 

 no danger," and started back into the hut to 

 finish his siesta, but the rather rough treatment 

 that he received at the hands of one of the gun 

 bearers soon changed his mind and he joined 

 the workers. 



Despite the seriousness of our position it was 

 amusing to watch the tent boys and gun bearers 



