424 
CAP1URE A NATIVE. 
[chap. XV. 
About five minutes passed in utter silence; the 
voices that we had heard had ceased. We were very 
cold, being wet through with the dew. My wife was 
much fatigued, and now rested by sitting on the bag 
of blankets. I was afraid of remaining long in inac¬ 
tion, lest she should become stiff and be unable to 
march. 
We had been thus waiting for about ten minutes, 
when we were suddenly startled by the most fearful 
and piercing yell I ever heard. This proceeded from 
the jungle where one of my men was on guard at 
about one hundred yards distant. For the moment I 
thought that he had been caught by a lion, and cock¬ 
ing my rifle, I ran towards the spot. Before I reached 
the jungle I saw one of the sentries running in the 
same direction, and two other figures approaching, one 
being dragged along by the throat by my man Moosa. 
He had a prisoner. It appeared, that while he was 
crouching beneath the bushes at the entrance of the 
main path that led through the jungle, he suddenly 
observed a man quietly stealing along the forest close 
to him. He waited unobserved until the figure had 
passed him, when he quickly sprang upon him from 
behind, seizing his spear with his left hand and grasp¬ 
ing his throat with his right. This sudden and unex¬ 
pected attack from an unseen enemy had so terrified 
the native that he had uttered the extraordinary yell 
that had startled our party. He was now trium¬ 
phantly led by his captor, but he was so prostrated by 
fear that he trembled as though in an ague fit. I 
endeavoured to reassure him, and Bacheeta shortly 
returning with the guide, we discovered the value of 
our prize. Far from being an enemy, he was one of 
Kalloe’s men who had been sent to spy the Mwa from 
Foweera : thus we had a dependable guide. This little 
incident was as refreshing as a glass of sherry during 
the night’s march, and we enjoyed a hearty laugh. 
Bacheeta had been unsuccessful in finding the origin 
of the voices, as they had ceased shortly after she had 
