so," I answered, "and now perhaps you will observe that we are
drifting across a sandbank into the mouth of the river. Get hold of your
oar, Job, and we will row in and see if we can find a place to land."

The river mouth which we were entering did not appear to be a very wide
one, though as yet the long banks of steaming mist that clung about
its shores had not lifted sufficiently to enable us to see its exact
measure. There was, as is the case with nearly every East African river,
a considerable bar at the mouth, which, no doubt, when the wind was on
shore and the tide running out, was absolutely impassable even for a
boat drawing only a few inches. But as things were it was manageable
enough, and we did not ship a cupful of water. In twenty minutes we were
well across it, with but slight assistance from ourselves, and being
carried by a strong though somewhat variable breeze well up the harbour.
By this time the mist was being sucked up by the sun, which was getting
uncomfortably hot, and we saw that the mouth of the little estuary was
here about half a mile across, and that the banks were very marshy, and
crowded with crocodiles lying about on the mud like logs. About a mile
ahead of us, however, was what appeared to be a strip of firm land, and
for this we steered. In another quarter of an hour we were there, and
making the boat fast to a beautiful tree with broad shining leaves, and
flowers of the magnolia species, only they were rose-coloured and
not white,[*] which hung over the water, we disembarked. This done we
undressed, washed ourselves, and spread our clothes, together with the
contents of the boat, in the sun to dry, which they very quickly did.
Then, taking shelter from the sun under some trees, we made a hearty
breakfast off a "Paysandu" potted tongue, of which we had brought a good
quantity with us, congratulating ourselves loudly on our good fortune
in having loaded and provisioned the boat on the previous day before the
hurricane destroyed the dhow. By the time that we had finished our meal
our clothes were quite dry, and we hastened to get into them, feeling
not a little refreshed. Indeed, with the exception of weariness and
a few bruises, none of us were the worse for the terrifying adventure
which had been fatal to all our companions. Leo, it is true, had been
half-drowned, but that is no great matter to a vigorous young athlete of
five-and-twenty.

[*] There is a known species of magnolia w