REST 
297 
off his boot, and the festering rags that covered the limb, expos¬ 
ing to view a raw, granulating, bleeding sore that encompassed 
the whole sole and part of the sides of his foot. Seldom have I 
been moved so keenly as at the sight of that foot. 
Before we had rested long, a messenger arrived from the king 
bringing us a large fat ox for food, with Moremi’s compliments, 
saying we must be hungry after our long tramp, and Stremboom 
baked us a loaf of bread made from real flour, the first we had 
seen for many a month. As a matter of curiosity I mounted 
the scales and weighed myself, to note the advance in condition 
sure to take place shortly. The scale turned at one hundred 
and ninety-eight pounds, my lowest weight for many years, for I 
was now as lean as a greyhound in full training. Three days 
later the scale rose cheerfully at two hundred and twelve 
pounds, while Hainmar had gained nine pounds in the same 
time. 
