simply
sat down upon the spot where our footsteps had been arrested, and food
was passed from hand to hand along the line. This latter was somewhat
unsatisfactory, at least as far as I was concerned, for the eatables that
reached me were not improved by passing through the hands of thirty or
forty malodorous negroes. But the fatality that had at first appalled us
had now been forgotten, and everyone kept a good heart. Led by Omar we
were approaching a land hitherto unknown; a country reputed to be full of
hidden wonders and strange marvels, and all were, hour by hour, eagerly
scanning the mysterious horizon.

Across the level sand, swept by winds that parched the lips and filled
the eyes with fine dust, causing us infinite misery, our gaze was ever
turned northward where Omar told us lay our land of promise. The very
last hesitations on the part of our followers had long been overcome. The
African savage is not given to roaming far from his own tract, fearing
capture or assassination at the hands of neighbouring tribes, but such
confidence had the men of Dagomba that if Omar had plunged into the
quicksands they would have followed without comment.

When at Trigger's I had often read stories of African adventure. I used
to fancy myself buried in forest wilds, or eating luncheon upon the
grass, on the edge of a tumbling brook in the shadow of great outlandish
trees; I could feel the juice of luscious fruits--mangroves and
bananas--trickle between my teeth. I had once read in one of the boys'
papers about the daughter of an African colonist abducted by the son of a
West African king who had fallen in love with her; and the ups and downs
and ins and outs of this love drama had opened a boundless vista to my
imagination. But life in Africa contained far more excitement than I had
ever imagined. Death threatened everywhere, and I received constant
warnings from Omar, who gave me good advice how to avoid sunstroke or
ward off the effects of the chill wind that blew nightly across this
wonderful limitless plain.

One evening, when the horizon northward looked grey and mysterious, and
to our left the fiery sun's last dying ray still lingered in the sky,
there was a sudden halt, the cause of which was I afterwards found due to
the sudden stoppage of our leader, Omar. All were eager to know the
cause, until in a few moments an amazing announcement spread from mouth
to mouth along the line.

There were strangers on ahead of us