ded to
make a tiny fire, talking in a hurry as he did it to several of Fred's
string of porters, who were now arriving on the scene.

While I watched with a sort of tortured interest what he was doing at
the fire, five of the largest boys with whom he had been speaking
rushed me from behind, and before I could struggle, or even swear, had
me pinned out on my back on the ground. One sat on my head; one on my
poor bruised stomach; the others held wrists and ankles in such way
that I could not break free, nor even kick much, however hard I tried.

Then Kazimoto came with glowing ends of grass from the fire, blowing on
them to keep them cherry-red, and inserted one after another into the
open spear-wound. I could not cry out, because of the man sitting on
my face, but I could bite. And to the everlasting glory of the
man--Ali bin Yema, his name was--be it written that he neither spoke
nor moved a muscle, although my front teeth met in his flesh.

I do not know how long the process lasted, or how many times Kazimoto
returned to the fire for more of his sizzling sticks, for I fainted;
and when I came round the agony was still too intense to permit
interest in anything but agony. They had my leg bandaged, how and with
what I neither knew nor cared. And it was evident that unless they
chose to leave me in camp where I was they would have to abandon all
thought of pursuing Masai for the present. Even Brown saw the force of
that, and he was the first to refuse flatly to leave me there.

For a while they hunted through the grass for more wounded men, but
found none. There must have been several, but they probably feared the
sort of mercy from us that they habitually gave to their own enemies,
and crawled away--in all likelihood to die of thirst and hunger, unless
some beast of prey should smell them out and make an earlier end.

Then there was consultation. It was decided a doctor for me was the
most urgent need; that Muanza, the largest German station on Victoria
Nyanza, was probably as near as anywhere, and that German East being
our immediate destination anyway, the best course to take was forward,
roughly south by west. So I was slung in a blanket on a tent-pole, and
we started, I swearing like a pirate every time a boy stumbled and
jolted me. (There is something in the nature of a burn that makes bad
language feel like singing hymns.)

Our troubles were not all over, for we passed through a country where
buck