rcuitous route on the camp itself with my
fifty musketeers, followed by my small company of spearmen. My
instructions were, to conceal my men as near to the camp as possible,
and there await the first discharge of firearms from the dell, when I
was to rise, advance upon the camp, utter a terrific shout when within
fifty yards, rush forward to within twenty-five yards, halt, pour in one
withering volley of blank cartridge, and charge without giving my men
time to load.

Of course I could not speak to my men; but this was a matter of little
consequence, as they were now well acquainted with our three words of
command, "Forward," "Halt," and "Fire," and fully understood that they
must under all circumstances follow their leader. I knew well enough
that there must be no little danger in this arrangement, because the
leader would necessarily be always in front of the muzzles of the loaded
guns. But there was no help for it, so I resolved to act upon my usual
principle--namely, that when a thing is inevitable, the best thing to do
is to treat it as being unavoidable.

Having conducted my men stealthily and successfully to the vicinity of
the enemy's camp, though with some difficulty, owing to the almost
impenetrable nature of the jungle through which we had to pass in making
the detour necessary to avoid falling in with the attacking force, we
proceeded to advance to within as short a distance of it as possible
without running the risk of being discovered. This was not difficult,
for the men left to guard the camp, supposing, no doubt, that their
presence in that part of the country was not suspected, had taken no
precautions in the way of placing sentries; so we quickly arrived at the
foot of a small mound about sixty yards or so from the encampment. At
the foot of this mound I caused my men to lie down, giving them to
understand, by signs, that they were on no account to move until I
should return. Then I crept alone to the brow of the mound, and
obtained a clear view of the camp.

The men who should have guarded it were, I found, busily employed in
cooking their supper. There were, perhaps, upwards of a hundred of
them. To my great satisfaction, I observed the captives sitting near to
the fire; and although at so considerable a distance from them, I felt
certain that I recognised the figures of Mbango and Okandaga. Hastening
back to my men, I endeavoured to give them as much information as
possible by means of