The storm of the preceding evening had now passed away, but the sky was still cloudy and the weather far from settled. It was the 19th of April, the time of the masika, or second period of the rainy season, so that for the next two or three weeks the nights might be expected to be wet.
On leaving the banks of the Coanza the caravan1 proceeded due east. Soldiers marched at the head and in the rear, as well as upon the flanks of the troop; any escape of the prisoners, therefore, even if they had not been loaded with their fetters2, would have been utterly3 impossible. They were all driven along without any attempt at order, the havildars using their whips unsparingly upon them whenever they showed signs of flagging. Some poor mothers could be seen carrying two infants, one on each arm, whilst others led by the hand naked children, whose feet were sorely cut by the rough ground over which they had trod.
Ibn Hamish, the Arab who had interfered4 between Dick and the havildar, acted as commander to the caravan, and was here, there, and everywhere; not moved in the least by the sufferings of the captives, but obliged to be attentive5 to the importunities of the soldiers and porters, who were perpetually clamouring for extra rations6, or demanding an immediate7 halt. Loud were the discussions that arose, and the uproar8 became positively9 deafening10 when the quarrelsome voices rose above the shrieks11 of the slaves,
[Illustration: If ever the havildar strolled a few yards away, Bat took the opportunity of murmuring a few words of encouragement to this poor old father.]
many of whom found themselves treading upon soil already stained by the blood of the ranks in front.
No chance again opened for Dick to get any communication with his friends, who had been sent to the van of the procession. Urged on by the whip they continued to march in single file, their heads in the heavy forks. If ever the havildar strolled a few yards away, Bat took the opportunity of murmuring a few words of encouragement to his poor old father, while he tried to pick out the easiest path for him, and to relax the pace to suit his enfeebled limbs. Large tears rolled down old Tom's cheeks when he found that his son's efforts only resulted in bringing down upon his back some sharp cuts of the havildar's whip. Actæon and Austin, subject to hardly less brutality12, followed a few steps behind, but all four could not help feeling envious13 at the luck of Hercules, who might have dangers to encounter, but at least had his liberty.
Immediately upon their capture, Tom had revealed to his companions the fact that they were in Africa, and informing them how they had been betrayed by Harris, made them understand that they had no mercy to expect.
Old Nan had been placed amongst a group of women in the central ranks. She was chained to a young mother with two children, the one at the breast, the other only three years old, and scarcely able to walk. Moved by compassion14, Nan took the little one into her own arms, thus not only saving it from fatigue15, but from the blows it would very likely have received for lagging behind. The mother shed tears of gratitude16, but the weight was almost too much for Nan's strength, and she felt as if she must break down under her self-imposed burden. She thought fondly of little Jack17, and imagining him borne along in the arms of his weary mother, could not help asking herself whether she should ever see him or her kind mistress again.
Far in the rear, Dick could not see the head of the caravan except occasionally, when the ground was rather on the rise. The voices of the agents and drivers, harsh and excited as they were, scarcely roused him from his melancholy18 reflections. His thoughts were not of himself nor of his own sufferings; his whole attention was absorbed in looking for some traces of Mrs. Weldon's progress; if she, too, was being taken to Kazonndé, her route must also lie this way. But he could discover no trace of her having been conducted by this line of march, and could only hope that she was being spared the cruelties which he was himself witnessing.
The forest extended for about twenty miles to the east of the Coanza, but whether it was that the trees had been destroyed by the ravages19 of insects, or broken down before they had made their growth by being trampled20 on by elephants, they were growing much less thickly than in the immediate vicinity of the river. There were numbers of cotton-trees, seven or eight feet high, from which are manufactured the black-and-white striped stuffs that are worn in the interior of the province; but, upon the whole, progress was not much impeded21 either by shrubs22 or underwood. Occasionally the caravan plunged23 into jungles of reeds like bamboos, their stalks an inch in diameter, so tall that only an elephant or giraffe could have reared above them, and through which none excepting such as had a very intimate knowledge of the country could possibly have made their way.
Starting every morning at daybreak they marched till noon, when an hour's halt was made. Packets of manioc were then unfastened, and doled24 out in sparing quantities among the slaves; sometimes, when the soldiers had plundered25 some village, a little goat's flesh or some sweet potatoes were added to the meal; but generally the fatigue, aggravated26 by inadequate27 rest, took away the appetite, and when meal-time arrived many of the slaves could hardly eat at all. During the first eight days' march from the Coanza no less than twenty unfortunate wretches28 had fallen upon the road, and had been left behind, a prey29 to the lions, panthers, and leopards30 that prowled in the wake. As Dick heard their roars in the stillness of the night, he trembled as he thought of Hercules. Nevertheless, had the opportunity offered itself, he would not for a moment have hesitated in making his own escape to the wilderness31.
[Illustration: The caravan had been attacked on the flank by a dozen or more crocodiles.]
The two hundred and fifty miles between the river and Kazonndé were accomplished32 in what the traders call marches of ten miles each, including the halts at night and midday. The journey cannot be better described than by a few rough notes that Dick Sands made upon his way.
April 25th.-Saw a village surrounded with bamboo palisading, eight or nine feet high. Fields round planted with maize33, beans, and sorghum34. Two negroes captured, fifteen killed, rest took to flight.
26th.-Crossed a torrent35 150 yards wide. Bridge formed of trunks of trees and creepers. Piles nearly gave way; two women fastened to a fork; one of them, carrying a baby, fell into the water. Water quickly tinged36 with blood; crocodiles seen under bridge; risk of stepping into their very jaws37.
28th.-Crossed a forest of bauhinias; great trees, the iron-wood of the Portuguese38. Heavy rain; ground sodden39; marching difficult. Caught sight of Nan in the middle of caravan; she was toiling............