essenger left us. He had forty-five miles
to run, and could not have been in till pretty nearly eight o'clock, and
these men must have started at once."

There was no time lost. While the Houssas were pulling down and packing
up the tent Ostik prepared two bowls of chocolate with biscuit soaked
in it. By the time that this was eaten the carriers had taken up their
loads, and two minutes later the whole party started almost at a trot.
Ugly Tom soon explained the cause of the haste. The army of Dahomey was,
the evening before, but eight miles from Abeokuta, and was expected
to appear before the town by midday, although, of course, it might be
later, for the movements of savage troops are uncertain in the extreme,
depending entirely upon the whims of their leader. So anxious were the
bearers to get back to the town in time, that they frequently went at a
trot. They were the better able to keep up the speed as a larger number
than were required had been sent. Many of the cases, too, were light,
consequently the men were able to shift the heavy burdens from time to
time. So great was the speed, that after an hour both Mr. Goodenough and
Frank, weakened by the effect of fever and climate, could no longer keep
up. The various effects carried in the hammocks were hastily taken out
and lifted by men unprovided with loads. The white men entered and were
soon carried along at a brisk trot by the side of the baggage. When they
recovered from their exhaustion sufficiently to observe what was going
on, they could not help admiring the manner in which the negroes,
with perspiration streaming from every pore, hurried along with their
burdens. So fast did they go, that in less than six hours they emerged
from the forest into the clearing, and a shout proclaimed that Abeokuta
was close at hand.

Ten minutes later the white men were carried through the gate, their
arrival being hailed with shouts of joy by the inhabitants. They were
carried in triumph to the principal building of the town, a large hut
where the general councils of the people were held. Here they were
received by the king and the leading inhabitants, who thanked them
warmly for coming to their assistance in the time of their peril. The
travelers were both struck with the appearance of the people. They were
clad with far more decency and decorum than was usual among the negro
tribes. Their bearing was quiet and dignified. An air of neatness and
order pervaded everything, a