4 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP. 
and had completely lost their bearings. After 
giving them some casks of water, we directed them 
to Muscat (the port they wished to make), and our 
vessel resumed its journey, leaving them - still 
becalmed in the midst of that glassy sea. Whether 
they managed to reach their destination I never knew. 
As our steamer made its way to its anchorage, 
the romantic surroundings of the harbour of 
Mombasa conjured up visions of stirring adventures 
of the past, and recalled to my mind the many tales 
of reckless doings of pirates and slavers, which as a 
boy it had been my delight to read. I remembered 
that it was at this very place that in 1498 the great — 
Vasco da Gama nearly lost his ship and life through 
the treachery of his Arab pilot, who plotted to 
wreck the vessel on the reef which bars more than 
half the entrance to the harbour. Luckily, this 
-nefarious design was discovered in time, and the 
bold navigator promptly hanged the pilot, and 
would also have sacked the town but for the timely 
submission and apologies of the Sultan. In the 
principal street of Mombasa—appropriately called 
Vasco da Gama _ Street—there still stands a 
curiously-shaped pillar which is said to have been 
erected by this great seaman in commemoration of 
his visit. 
Scarcely had the anchor been dropped, when, as 
if by magic, our vessel was surrounded by a fleet 
