all,
Uncle Horace," said the exultant Leo; and reflecting on the mysterious
negro's head and the equally mysterious stonework, I made no direct
reply.

"A country like Africa," I said, "is sure to be full of the relics
of long dead and forgotten civilisations. Nobody knows the age of the
Egyptian civilisation, and very likely it had offshoots. Then there were
the Babylonians and the Phoenicians, and the Persians, and all manner
of people, all more or less civilised, to say nothing of the Jews whom
everybody 'wants' nowadays. It is possible that they, or any one of
them, may have had colonies or trading stations about here. Remember
those buried Persian cities that the consul showed us at Kilwa."[*]

[*] Near Kilwa, on the East Coast of Africa, about 400 miles south of
Zanzibar, is a cliff which has been recently washed by the waves. On the
top of this cliff are Persian tombs known to be at least seven centuries
old by the dates still legible upon them. Beneath these tombs is a layer
of _debris_ representing a city. Farther down the cliff is a second
layer representing an older city, and farther down still a third layer,
the remains of yet another city of vast and unknown antiquity.
Beneath the bottom city were recently found some specimens of glazed
earthenware, such as are occasionally to be met with on that coast to
this day. I believe that they are now in the possession of Sir John
Kirk.--Editor.

"Quite so," said Leo, "but that is not what you said before."

"Well, what is to be done now?" I asked, turning the conversation.

As no answer was forthcoming we walked to the edge of the swamp, and
looked over it. It was apparently boundless, and vast flocks of
every sort of waterfowl flew from its recesses, till it was sometimes
difficult to see the sky. Now that the sun was getting high it drew thin
sickly looking clouds of poisonous vapour from the surface of the marsh
and from the scummy pools of stagnant water.

"Two things are clear to me," I said, addressing my three companions,
who stared at this spectacle in dismay: "first, that we can't go across
there" (I pointed to the swamp), "and, secondly, that if we stop here we
shall certainly die of fever."

"That's as clear as a haystack, sir," said Job.

"Very well, then; there are two alternatives before us. One is to 'bout
ship, and try and run for some port in the whale-boat, which would be
a sufficiently risky proceeding, and the other to sail or row on u