28 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



done in writing up notes and working out computations from 

 the star work of the night before, while I was busy skinning 

 my birds. Hour aftei; hour the boats toiled heavily along 

 against the stream, generally following about 800 yards apart ; 

 but sometimes they drew level, and this was always a signal 

 for a spurt from the crews, and for a few minutes we were 

 gripping ourselves in the excitement of a race, that deter- 

 mined which was to be the leader of the river, and so be 

 the first to turn the bend that we ever hoped would disclose 

 a fresh scene, or arrive first at the welcome point chosen for 

 the camping-ground. For the first few hours, when the day 

 was cool and all our energies fresh, we would notice every 

 little incident of wild nature along the banks, and frequently 

 the banks echoed to the report of my gun, which had been 

 aimed at some rare object I had spied through my glasses. 

 But as the day wore on, and the water and the dry mud-banks 

 began to glare and quiver in the heat and one's senses to grow 

 confused with the monotonous sound of the polers working, 

 one's thoughts started to stray and one's eyes stared in front 

 of them without intelligence, fascinated by the endless heat 

 dance over the water or the muscles of the backs and Hmbs 

 of the polers which seemed to sweU bigger at each lunge as 

 the sweat started to spring, making them shine like wet 

 bronze in the sun. Thus one's mind was lulled into a state 

 of torpor, and hours went by unheeded till, perhaps, suddenly 

 round the bend of the river, or in the distant haze at the end 

 of a long reach, a native " dug-out " appeared, and one was 

 startled alert by a shout from the " boys " and the boat 

 leapt forward with a sudden spurt. Long before we neared 

 each other questioning shouts and answering shouts would 



