THE THIRD DEPARTURE. 



53 



receiving many congratulations on his good fortune — 

 fugitive slaves sometimes draw their knives across the 

 master's throat or insert the points into his eyes — sent 

 off his own attendants to recover the fugitives. In the 

 jungle, however, search was of scant avail: the Wanguru 

 feared that if caught by the Baloch, they would lose their 

 ears ; three days would enable them to reach their own 

 country ; and their only risk was that if trapped by the 

 Washenzi before their irons — a valuable capture to the 

 captors— could be removed, they might again be sold to 

 some travelling trader. As the day wore on, Said's face 

 assumed a deplorable expression : his slaves had not ap- 

 peared, and though several of them were muwallid or 

 born in his father's house, and one was after a fashion 

 his brother-in-law, he sorely dreaded that they also had 

 deserted. He was proportionally delighted when in the 

 dead of the night, entering Mkwaju la Mvuani, they 

 reported ill-success ; and though I could little afford the 

 loss, I was glad to get rid of this chained and surly gang. 



On the next day Ave began loading for the third and 

 final departure, before dawn, and at 7.30 a. m. were 

 on the dew-dripping way. Beyond the settlement a 

 patch of jungle led to cultivated grounds belonging 

 to the villagers, whose scattered and unfenced abodes 

 were partially concealed by dense clumps of trees. 

 The road then sweeping parallel with the river plain, 

 which runs from N.Y\ r . to S.E., crossed several swamps, 

 black muddy bottoms covered with tall thick rushes 

 and pea-green paddy, and the heavily laden asses sunk 

 knee-deep into the soft soil. Red copalliferous sand 

 clothed the higher levels. On the wayside appeared 

 for the first time the Khambi or substantial kraals, 

 which evidence unsafe travelling and the unwillingness 

 of caravans to bivouac in the villages. In this region 



E 3 



