108 SPORTING AND 



ground before dark ; but, as I said before, 

 making a way through a thick jungle was 

 particularly slow work. The next night 

 we slept in an old hut, and I must own 

 that I felt much safer, having a door to 

 close, though it was only a mat that re- 

 presented it. 



Having heard from some shepherds that 

 there were a good many natives in the 

 neighbourhood, and that we were close to 

 a very large village, we determined to get 

 away before any of them were about in 

 the morning. We, therefore, started be- 

 fore daybreak, but not knowing the direc- 

 tion we ought to take, missed our way ; 

 before we could rectify our mistake, we 

 took a wrong turn, and found ourselves in 

 a large village crowded with fighting men 

 if one might judge by the way these 

 fellows were armed, and the formidable 



