e chief people,--so that he had had few of the irksome duties to
perform which had fallen to our lot.

I now fondly hoped that, with Boxall as our leader, though we might have
many difficulties to encounter, we should be able to overcome them, and
finally reach the sea. We all agreed, however, that, from the direction
the caravans had taken, we must still be at a considerable distance from
it, and that we should certainly have a long voyage to perform on the
river.

"No matter how long it is," exclaimed Ben in a confident tone; "if we
can get a few planks under our feet, and a bit of canvas for a sail,
with Mr Boxall as captain, we'll do it!"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

THE RAFT UPSET--WE DISCOVER A CANOE--A FIGHT FOR LIBERTY--RECAPTURED--
THE BLACK WOMAN'S KINDNESS--THE BLACK SHEIKH BETTER THAN HE LOOKS--
SHEIKH HAMED'S ANGER--A FRIGHTFUL DOOM--RESCUED.

We did not spend much time in relating our adventures--knowing that we
should have opportunities enough by-and-by of spinning as many yarns
about them as we might.

Boxall approved of our plan of trying to find a canoe; or if not, of
building a raft on which we might float down the stream until we could
fall in with one; so we accordingly made our way at once to the bank of
the river. It was not so broad as we expected to find it, yet the
volume of water was sufficient to make us suppose that it flowed on in
an uninterrupted course to the ocean. Of the character of the natives
we knew nothing; indeed, we believed that no European had ever explored
that part of the country. Selim alone could give us any information.
His idea was that the people were among the most barbarous of any to be
found on the borders of the Sahara. This was not satisfactory, but we
could only hope that we might escape them.

"At all events," observed Ben, "I have a notion that four Englishmen
with a carbine, a large pistol, and a Turkish cutlass, backed by an
honest black fellow with his bow and arrows, are a match for any number
of savages; so if they come we must give them a thrashing--and that's
what I've got to say about the matter."

Though not quite so confident as Ben, we hoped that we should be able to
keep at bay any enemies who might attack us.

The bank of the river was thickly wooded, and we made but slow progress.
Despairing at last of finding a canoe, we determined to build a raft.
Reaching a part of the bank where a few feet of open ground gave us
space to work, we comm