ble chagrin, it was a mere voluble jargon of
statements, which simply baffled and puzzled me and caused me pain. Our
charge would stare at us stolidly, and then remark, in a vulgar Cockney
voice, that he was quite _sure_ we were going the wrong way. By this
time, I should mention, we had re-clothed him in his trousers and shirt,
for he had obviously suffered terribly from the burning sun.

Many days passed away before I would admit to myself that this unhappy
creature was a hopeless imbecile. I was never absent from his side day
or night, hoping and waiting for the first sane remark. Soon, however,
the bitter truth was borne in upon us that, instead of having found
salvation and comfort in the society of a white man, we were merely
saddled with a ghastly encumbrance, and were far worse off than before.

We now set off in the direction of our old tracks, but were not able to
travel very fast on account of the still feeble condition of the white
stranger. Poor creature! I pitied him from the bottom of my heart. It
seemed so terrible for a man to lapse into a state of imbecility after
having survived the dreadful hardships and adventures that had befallen
him. I tried over and over again to elicit sensible replies to my
questions as to where he came from; but he simply gibbered and babbled
like a happy baby. I coaxed; I threatened; I persuaded; but it was all
in vain. I soon found he was a regular millstone round my
neck--particularly when we were on the "walk-about." He would suddenly
take it into his head to sit down for hours at a stretch, and nothing
would induce him to move until he did so of his own accord.

Curiously enough, Bruno became very greatly attached to him, and was his
constant companion. Of this I was extremely glad, because it relieved me
of much anxiety. You will understand what I mean when I tell you that,
in spite of all our endeavours, our mysterious companion would go off by
himself away from our track; and at such times were it not for Bruno--whom
he would follow anywhere--we would often have had much trouble in
bringing him back again. Or he might have been speared before a strange
tribe could have discovered his "sacred" (idiotic) condition.

At length we reached a large lagoon, on the shores of which we stayed for
about two years. This lagoon formed part of a big river at flood-time,
but the connecting stretches of water had long since dried up for many
miles both above and belo