elf-imposed task, and the dismal hungry looks
he kept giving me from time to time were ludicrous in the extreme.

"Never mind, Joe," said the doctor smiling; "tighten your belt, my lad,
and get to sleep. That's the best way to forget your hunger. You'll be
sure to begin dreaming about feasts."

The doctor was right; I lay hungrily awake for a short time, and then
dropped off to sleep, to dream of delicious fruits, and cooking, and the
smell of meat burning, and I awoke with a start to find that there was a
very peculiar odour close to my nose, for a piece of wood must have shot
a spark of its burning body into the shaggy head of poor Jimmy, who was
sleeping happily unconscious, while a tiny scrap of wood was glowing and
the hair sending forth curls of smoke.

I jumped up, seized Jimmy by the hair, and crushed out the spark,
awaking that worthy so sharply that he sprang up waddy in hand, caught
me by the throat, and threw me back, swinging his war-club over his head
to strike a tremendous blow.

He saw who it was in time and dropped his weapon.

"What a fool, Jimmy, yes! What a fool Jimmy sleep. Pull Jimmy hair,
jig jag. Hallo! What a want?"

It took some time to make him understand what had been wrong, but even
when he did comprehend he seemed to be annoyed with me for waking him
out of a pleasant dream, probably about damper and mutton, for the
saving of so insignificant a thing as his hair, which would have soon
grown again.

Jimmy lay down again grumbling, but was soon asleep, and on comparing
notes with the doctor I found I was so near my time for taking my turn
at watching and keeping up the fire that I exchanged places with him.

As is often the case, the troubles and depressing influences of the
night departed with the day, and setting out very hungry, but by no
means in bad spirits, we soon found a more open part, where the forest
was beginning to end, and after about three hours' walking we reached
our little camp, where we had no difficulty in satisfying our cravings,
our ordinary food being supplemented by a great bunch of plantains which
one of the blacks had found and saved for us.

After a good rest, during which the doctor and I had talked well over
our future course, we determined to go right on as we had come for
another four days and then to strike due south to hit the shore, always
supposing that we encountered nothing fresh to alter our plans.

"And I'm sure we shall," I said to myse