ii8 THE PLAINS OF RUISAMBA 



strongly to us, so we asked for a rope, which was 

 brought by the soldiers in fragments of various sizes 

 and thrown across. Some of the army swam across 

 higher up the stream and held on to our end of the 

 rope, by which we passed across our guns, water- 

 bottles, clothes, and other impedimenta — all, indeed, 

 but our hats. Then I tried to follow in the same 

 way, but a few yards from the bank the rope broke, 

 and had not the military contingent at my end of it 

 held on fast, I should have gone sailing down to 

 Lake Albert Edward at twenty miles an hour. 

 After that it was better to follow Woosnam's more 

 prudent example and swim across higher up, where 

 the river was wider but not quite so swift, though 

 swift enough for a moderate swimmer. We emerged 

 on the Congo bank dripping and blushing under our 

 sun-helmets, and introduced ourselves to Lieutenant 



B , of the Belgian regiment of Grenadiers, clad 



in a spotless white uniform. He looked astonished 

 enough at the sight of his strange visitors — we 

 heard afterwards that our mysterious appearance 

 was known all over the Congo — but instead of 

 locking us up as suspicious persons, he took us in 

 and entertained us most hospitably. 



The post of Kasindi looked, like so many of the 

 Congo posts, a very temporary affair — very different 

 from the substantial British posts in Uganda. But 



Lieutenant B 's quarters were a haven of refuge 



to us that day. A bottle of champagne, supplied to 

 the Congo posts as 'medical comforts,' was found 



