ACTING on the information received from Murad Nassyr, the emir and I separated once more, I to follow up the river on shore, he, altering his plans, to sail after me, for we found it would be better to bring up the "Falcon" after all, since we could not be sure when Ibn Asl would make his intended assault on the Dinkas, nor, when he had captured them, whether he would bring them down by water or land.

Murad Nassyr and the "turtle dove" went on board "Esch Schadin," and I may state here that when I parted from the contrite Turk and his sister, it was forever.

But I received an addition to my force which was by no means a welcome one. Selim, the lengthy, the boaster and marplot, who had been so long with the Reis Effendina waiting to join me, begged so hard to go with me this time that I could not refuse, and he, with Ben Nil, a Negro called Agadi, whom the Reis had given me for interpreter in case we came upon any native settlements, and a force of "Asaker" sufficient to hold Ibn Asl at bay till the ship should come up if we met him, constituted my little army. Our march was made through a marshy country, and we were mounted upon oxen, as neither a camel nor a horse could traverse it. Indeed none other than that prosaic animal is found in that region, though the ox does not figure in poetry as frequently as "the noble Arabian steed" and the "ship of the desert."

Our destination was a Dinka village, not the Gohks', which Ibn Asl intended to raid, but another branch of that tribe, from whom we hoped to draw assistance in rescuing

their kindred. We had seen no sign of a human being during our wearisome march of four days, but at twilight of the last day we came upon a deeply trodden path which led from the water. Between two posts erected over the path at the point where we came upon it hung a heavy rock, which was attached to a cross-beam between these posts, and on the rock hung a short iron spear, which was connected with a bundle of tempting reeds by a rope. There was a barbed hook on the end of the spear. We recognized in this contrivance a hippopotamus trap, and, concluding that where there was a trap there must be men who set it, resolved to conceal ourselves to watch for their coming, it being uncertain whether they would prove friends or foes.

Agadi, the interpreter, offered to reconnoiter the village, which we assumed was near by, an offer which we accepted. He was gone more than an hour and returned with the report that it was a settlement of the Dinkas of the tribe of Bor, the very tribe which we were seeking to aid us in rescuing their kindred.

Just as we were about to sally forth on the strength of this assurance to visit the village we saw two Negroes approaching, and resumed our position till we had made sure they were from the Dinkas. They went toward the river, and as I watched them I saw something coming up from the bank which made me hold my breath. It was a hippopotamus cow, a giant to judge by the size of the head, and by her side ambled her youngster, which was about as big as a Newfoundland dog. Evidently the Negroes had not seen this pair, and I watched anxiously for the men's and the animals' discovery of each other, for the hippopotamus is not the mild creature it is sometimes said to be. It often attacks without provocation; when wounded it is always dangerous, and no wild animal tolerates the presence of man when it has young.

The mother and her clumsy child were enjoying an unwieldy game of romps in the swamp, drawing nearer the men, whom I saw suddenly get behind trees, showing that they had seen the little one, which had preceded its mother some distance, quite unconscious of danger. I was all eyes, watching the scene with no thought of anything but the present moment, for I saw the Negroes were absorbed in the prospect of a roast of tender young hippopotamus. The young and inexperienced future tid-bit, drawn by the bait in the trap which it now scented, came close to the men. In a moment they fell upon it, and, with two or three heavy blows on the upraised nose, dispatched it with the oars, which were their only weapon.

Then I saw Nemesis coming in the shape which they ought to have known she would come in -- the great body of the old hippopotamus. She had heard the death cry of her young, and responded with a roar which could be compared to nothing else, as she plunged toward its destroyers with a rapidity one could not have expected from such a tremendous mass of flesh. She passed under the trap, setting off the spring. The harpoon fell, but in the animal's rear, because she was moving so fast, and she continued her course unharmed till she reached the body of her calf, at which she paused, turning it over with her snout.

Why the Negroes had not looked for the old hippopotamus was hard to see, but evidently her coming was entirely unexpected. They stood motionless, staring at her, transfixed with horror. But as she paused over the little one's body they came to their senses and took advantage of their brief opportunity for flight. Throwing away their oars, they started to run toward their village. My hiding place was between the animal and the Negroes, and it seemed to Selim and Agadi that lives as precious as theirs should not be placed in such hazard. They slipped softly through the

trees and were lost to sight, though Ben Nil, as usual stood by me.

In the meantime the hippopotamus, having satisfied herself that the young one was dead, rushed on after the Negroes, who were still in plain view. The speed at which she moved was incredible, and as she ran she gave forth roars which no words could describe. As she approached me I stood still, not from fright, but because I was calculating. Both barrels of my gun were loaded. I could have shot, but was too cautious to do so. The gigantic beast must be wounded in such a place that the wound should be mortal. The trees were so thick that it was impossible to aim with certainty, and there are very few spots in a hippopotamus' body where it can be wounded mortally. I would not attempt the shot from a distance.

What followed happened quicker than it can be described. The scene of the drama, which came nearer being a tragedy, was a path made by the heavy feet of hippopotami, which was not a path in any ordinary sense, but rather deep holes filled with water. To the right and left the thicket; above, palm branches so shading the path with their great leaves that only a few straggling rays of moonlight could break through. The shouts and screams of frightened men arose in front of us from the village, which had been aroused to the danger of the Negroes gone to look after the trap by the infuriated roars of the hippopotamus, and, to add to the horror, the forest resounded with the cries, howls and roars of beasts and birds awakened from their sleep by the roaring of the enraged mammoth and the human voices. And here, close upon us, a raging, furious mass, which had to be disposed of to save the lives of not less than a dozen men!

Hoping to get into the open where I could aim, I started to run, but in a moment I had stumbled and went headlong into the thicket as if thrown by ten-horse power. I heard

an awful roar close behind me, gathered myself up and flew onward. How I ran so fast I could never tell, then nor now. The hippopotamus bounded after me, and I rushed blindly on, over holes and stumps, between the walls of the thicket. I stumbled over the bodies of the Negroes who had fallen on their way to the village, and at last the darkness overhead began to lighten; I was reaching the clearing and the moonlight was flooding the ground. Just ahead of me black figures were wildly rushing to and fro, and I heard the hippopotamus stamping a man to powder not twelve feet from me. I made five or six long, running leaps, then stood still and aimed. First I made sure that my hand was steady, that I was not trembling from exertion. Then I fastened my eyes on the left ear of the hippopotamus. The shot echoed through the woods; a second one followed it instantly. I ran toward the left into the shadow of the nearest hut, felt in my pocket for a new charge, reloaded and turned back to see what had been the result of my first shots.

The beast stood erect, motionless. Her great jaws were open, showing her strong, blunt teeth. She looked as though she had intended to roar, but her gigantic jaws emitted no sound, for the source of her voice, the lungs, were wounded. A great shudder passed over her body. She swayed to the right, then to the left, pitched forward, swung from side to side again, then fell heavily, with the sound of a falling log, and lay stark and stiff without the slightest motion of a limb.

In the meantime I had reloaded and come cautiously up to the head, ready for another shot should one be necessary. It never was. Both my first shots had gone home, one passing into the lung, the other into the brain; she was dead.

For the first time I now looked about me to see what had been the effect of the encounter on the Negroes. A few who

had been injured lay on the ground, and some were dead; but there was not another human being in sight. From the huts came sounds of voices. I went to the entrance of the largest of these huts and called: "Selim, Agadi, are you here?"

"Yes, Effendi," replied two voices, and, looking in, I saw my interpreter bound fast to stakes.

"Now what does this mean?" I asked as I cut the ropes.

"They took you for Ibn Asl," said Agadi, "and me for your spy. It will be all right now. Heaven, how frightened we all were!"

"They were frightened, Effendi," said Selim, emerging from beneath a pile of blankets, his bronze face blanched. "I should have saved them if you had not. I was about to shoot when the beast fell."

"So I see," I remarked. "All good hunters crawl under bedclothes to take aim. Lead me to the chief."

Agadi did as he was bidden, and, as we approached the chieftain's hut, he came forth to meet me. He was a well formed Negro, almost perfectly black, his features of the characteristic Negro type, and he was tattooed in a fashion doubtless beautiful to the initiated. He made me a deep genuflection, scanned my face closely, his gaze getting every moment more friendly, and at last said:

"No, you are not Ibn Asl."

He used the language of his tribe, so that Agadi had to interpret.

"I have come to warn you of a new crime planned by that wretch, so you may trust me."

"Agadi has told me. I do trust you now with all my heart. Tell me how I can show my gratitude to you. I will do anything for you."

"I have done nothing to merit gratitude; but there is something which I might ask of you, for which we will pay

you honestly. We need oxen for riding and to carry our packs."

"Then it is true that Ibn Asl will attack the Gohks?"

"It not only is true that he will, but that he is already about the work. I know that you are of the same tribe, and hope that you will help us save them."

"They are our kindred and neighbors, and it is our duty to stand by them. Besides, you have delivered us. They are strangers to you, nevertheless you are trying to rescue them. How could we, who are related to them, refuse our help? How many oxen do you need?"

"Possibly two hundred. Can you get us so many, and that quickly?"

"You can have a thousand by to-morrow noon, for we are richer in cattle than any other tribe. Two hundred will not be enough."

He looked at me laughing as he said this, as if something lay behind it, and I asked expectantly:

"Why not?"

"Because two hundred cannot carry the force of our warriors which will go with you. When strangers go to rescue our kindred we cannot stay behind. I will send two hundred of my best warriors with you."

This was better tidings than I dared hope for, and I answered joyfully:

"They will be most welcome. We do not fear Ibn Asl, but we cannot be too strong. I will go to fetch my 'Asaker' into the village and will send messengers back to the Reis Effendina that he may know where to find me and how generously you will help us."

This I did, and we supped royally, my comrades, our new allies and I, on roasted baby hippopotamus, which really is an acceptable dish.

After a refreshing night's sleep we wakened to a breakfast

of the same unusual delicacy, and then, since there was nothing to be done until the warriors and oxen could be gotten ready, I asked the chieftain, through Agadi, if there was any shooting to be had.

"You will not find anything about here, Effendi," he replied. "Our presence has driven away all game; but, if you will row across the river, you will get all you want."

"Do you know whether I might run across an enemy over there?" I asked.

"I know you have nothing to fear. You will not see a human being, for we are the only ones near here."

This assurance was quite enough, for the chief was well acquainted with the region, so I made ready to go hunting, taking Ben Nil with me. But Selim did not fancy this arrangement. He hastened after me, imploring:

"Take me with you, Effendi; take me with you."

"Not I," I said. "You are sure to do some idiotic thing. I don't want you."

He threw up his long arms, clasped his hands over his head and shrieked:

"Idiotic! I, Selim, the most renowned warrior in the world, idiotic! Who ever heard the like? You insult the very depths of my soul and wound the tenderest feelings of my heart. If fifty hippopotami and a hundred elephants attacked me they could not harm me; I would lay more than that low in five minutes. And you are to shoot nothing but birds!"

I should scarcely have yielded even to this heart-rending appeal, but Ben Nil seemed to want the old gas-bag to enjoy himself, and begged me to let him go, reminding me that he really could do no harm.

"Well, let him come, then," I said; "but he will scare off the birds, if he can't do anything worse, for he is doomed to make a mess of everything he puts his finger in."

We took a small boat and rowed out on the river. A little way up on the opposite bank we saw a small inlet, into which I steered. Selim was rowing, and the instant we got near in he pulled so hard on one oar that I could do nothing with the tiller, and he landed us on, or rather in, a marshy island overgrown with reeds. Selim thought it was solid land. I saw that he was making ready to jump and I shouted:

"Stop ! You'll go through."

Too late! He had made the jump quicker than I could speak, and my prophecy was fulfilled on the spot, for he immediately disappeared in the long grass. Our light boat nearly capsized when the careless fellow leaped. I jumped to the other side to right her and Selim's head appeared, terror written on his face, while he clutched the boat rail, drawing us downward.

"Let go, you idiot you'll upset us!" I shouted. "Lift up your legs; swim!"

"I must get in; take me in," he blubbered. "The crocodiles! The crocodiles! Lift me, quick, quick; they'll get me!"

There was not a sign of a crocodile anywhere; nevertheless the coward hung stiff and wild with fright on the edge of the boat, so that with Ben Nil and me leaning with all our might over the other side, we were in momentary danger of upsetting.

"Don't stay on that side; take me in," Selim implored, pulling himself along the edge toward us, trying to escape the crocodiles which were not there. As he passed to the stern the little boat keeled over, and in an instant we were all in the Nile. I struck out for shore. Ben Nil instantly rose and followed me; but Selim, Selim, the hero, grabbed my foot, and I actually towed the creature in and hauled him up the bank, where he lay with his eyes closed as if drowned.

"He isn't dead?" said Ben Nil doubtfully. "Certainly not; no one drowns so quickly. Selim, open your eyes."

He obeyed, looked at us and then at the water with an expression of anguish and shrieked:

"Where are the crocodiles, where are they? Quick! get away from here."

He actually started to run, but I held him fast, saying:

"Stay where you are, coward! No crocodile is such a fool as to mistake you for good eating. You are perfectly safe here. There isn't a crocodile anywhere around, but our shooting is done for, thanks to our letting you come with us. I knew you'd do some fool thing."

These words aroused him.

"I?" he exclaimed. "Effendi, it was you, not I, who steered to that treacherous island. And as to drowning, I tell you I am so at home in the water that I would be more likely to drown on land than in the waves."

"You don't say so! Then go in and dive for our guns and bring the boat here."

He scratched his renowned ear and was silent. Of course, I had no idea of sending him after the guns and boat, but emptied my pockets, took off my belt with my knives, laid them in the sun to dry and went into the river to get our property.

There was no trouble in finding the guns, for they lay exactly under the spot where the boat had capsized, and, while I was disentangling them from the grass, Ben Nil, who had laid off all unnecessary encumbrances and followed me, righted the boat, and we pushed it ashore, guns and all safe.

We sat down on the bank and set to work emptying out the gun barrels and drying them. Our faces were turned toward the water, and we talked in ordinary tones, having the chief's assurance that there was no danger of being over-

heard. Unfortunately he was mistaken when he said no one was in that neighborhood. There was some one about, as we were to discover.

When I had finished working on my gun and was about to begin on my revolver I heard a voice behind me cry in a tone of command:

"Quick! Seize them and bind them."

Before I could spring to my feet I was overpowered and thrown down. Three or four dark-visaged fellows knelt on me, while another bound my arms with his head cloth. I tried vainly to throw them off. Once I half succeeded, but at last I was bound and resistance was impossible. Three other men had in like manner disposed of Ben Nil. Selim, "the greatest hero of the world," had been conquered by one man!

Now that we were all rendered powerless, the leader of the gang came forward from the bushes and strode over to me, saying:

"You here in Maijah Semkat, you dog! This is the work of Allah. He has given you into my hands, and this time you are at the end of your rope."

I looked up and saw in amazement that it was the muza'bir, the man from whom I had already escaped so fortunately and who thus far had been able to escape me.

Contents

Introduction