Part 56 (1/2)

I gave them the blanket to bury him in, and we poled the Queen of Sheba inshore to find a place to dig a hole, leaving the body stretched on soh by that tiuard close by; as it hen theup a babel, Fred and I cah the le off into the water, with the corpse in his jaws feet first Fred fired a shotted salute, but missed, and that ended that funeral

By day we passed villages on higher ground, where we ht have procuredGerers were so used to dhows that they would not trouble to report having seen us in the distance; but it was perfectly certain that if we paid the fro, undiscoverable ease that is at once the blessing and bane of governments

So Fred wasted hot hours with the only rifle, trying to hunt ame had been ran down by the natives, or butchered by the Gero (for to teach Sudanese mercenaries the art of rapid fire in action their officers ame in plenty away from the lake, but none where the German officer could conveniently practise his profession)

We tried to shoot ducks and geese; but a rifle at long range is not the best weapon for that sport We shot very few, and then only to discover the invincible repugnance natives have to eating ”dagi” as they call all birds We kept ourselves alive, but did not solve the proble supplies of rice for ourWe found hooks in a crevice in the Queen of Sheba's bow, and h the shore was lined with traps in which the inhabitants no doubt took fish in proper season, all that we caught was one miserable finny specimen, all head and mouth and tail, that the natives said would poison any one who ate it The truth was, of course, that they preferred rice to anything, and, African native-like, would eat nothing else as long as rice was to be had, having no earthly notions of econoone on the fifth day out of Muanza they raided a banana plantation before we knehat they were up to, and cah to feed them for two or three more days

The fat was in the fire then, of course We paid the owners handso them their choice ofcanoes deeance They voted for blankets and money, but vowed they would far rather have the bananas, because now their own people would be on short commons to make up for the surfeit of ours

We left the that they would send word to the nearest Ger station within a ”few hours,” and we prayed he e of it, but knew that prayer was too sweetly reasonable to be answered where the Gerners) Kazi one another they would ainst us within the day

It reht be We were approaching the northern end of Ukerewe, not a day's sail, if the light wind held, from the narrow mouth of the channel between Ukerewe and the mainland That was the likeliest place for the launch to lie in wait; it here ould have waited had we been pursuers and they the pursued So we decided after a council of war to put the hel to ht stop for a few days, catch fish and dry the the Germans know our whereabouts (It is a peculiar fact that whatever the native secret systees may be, it does not work across water)

Not all the little Gods of Africa were fighting for the Ger up the helhted a school of hippopotami--fifty at least, and for half a day we chased the to shoot one until Will and I objected to further waste of ah for a month for the whole shi+p's company We could have towed the carcass ashore solare on the watervery nearly impossible (Fred's eyes were sore fro cartridges would be our only hope But the diversion took us out of sight of land, and that stood us in better stead presently than tons of fresh meat

Whether the Ger that part of the lake in wait, we never knew Probably they heard the shooting in the distance and gave chase At any rate, within ten ht of smoke and announced the fact with his favorite oath

”Gassharamminy! The launch!”

At first ere all in a stew because there was no land near, where we ht have beached the dhow and scattered It was an hour before our advantage of position dawned on us, and all the while the launch approached us leisurely She had plenty of fuel; the as piled high above her gunwale in a stack toward the stern; but those on board her seemed to take more pleasure in contemplation of our defenselessness than in speed She stea in; and then we ainst the cord-ith a rifle between his hands

”Shoot hied Coutlass, but Fred was not so previous as that We were not yet on the defensive We counted five rifles, in addition to Schillingschen's protruding above the launch's side, and we all took cover in the hope either that they ht decide ere not the dhow they waited for, or else that they ht come very close out of curiosity For Fred had a plan of his own Rifle in hand, he crawled under the hot tarpaulin and lay flat on the reed deck, Will crawling after him to snatch the rifle in case Fred should be hit

”Steer straight toward 'em!” Fred called to me, as soon as it was evident that the launch did not intend to pass us by ”Keep headed toward theschen tired of staring at us and gave an order to the engineer Then they laid the launch broadside on to our bow at about two hundred yards' range, and without a word of warning opened fire on us fro his first attention to myself at the helm

Our lone rifle cracked in reply, but they could not see Fred and did not guess where to shoot in order to search him out They caschen's bullets appearing to coet, until a yell from belohat their real plan was and I understood why the sail was not ripped and no bullets whistled overhead They were shooting through the planking of the dhow, endeavoring to massacre the helpless crowd below, and no doubt to sink her and drown us as soon as she was full enough of holes

A wounded Nya blood from his neck and crazed with fear He jumped overboard and tried to swim toward the launch, but one of the Germans hit him in the head at the third shot and he disappeared Then one of Schillingschen's elephant bullets slit my sleeve, and the next one pierced schen, Fred!” I shouted, but Fred did not answer He kept up a very steady succession of shots that were doing no good at all that I could see

Another Gerh of the Goanese He ed white blood in hi to the after-deck, bellowing like a mad-man Coutlass knocked him back beloith a blow on the chin, and he there and then threw the whole crowd into a panic by screaether through the narrow opening, and those in the rear tore at the reed deck

Into that pande but hellenic fury, thoughtful of nothing but his lady-love--surely reckless of his own skin He beat, kicked, bit, scragged, banged their foolish heads together, cursed, spat, gouged, and strangled as surely no catamount ever did Brown leaped in to lend a hand, and into the midst of that inferno threea y of her own sudden devising, seized the tiller and tried to wrench it fro new treachery and fearful for her Greek lover, tried to prevent her with teeth and nails The Germans raised a hoop of wild enjoyht of all that, Fred's three-and-twentieth shot went ho except staet out of reach of sorew denser; invisible hot vapor became a pall of steam that bid the launch fro the proper mark by sheer accident, for there was another explosion; the cloud increased and the launch stopped dead

”That gray sheet of metal wasn't her boiler at all!” Fred shouted back to me ”The first shot pierced the boiler when I found out where to aih pressure steam--superheated--did you see? Now leave 'eet Schillingschen!” said I

But Schillingschen was invisible in the white cloud, and Fred refused to waste one of the half-dozen cartridges reht wind that bore us away from the launch also spread the screen of steaschens rifle proved him to be still alive, and still deteran to dare to sit upright Then Fred went below to sort out woundedholes in the dhow, and stop the panic, and we all prayed for ith a fervor they never exceeded in Nelson's fleet

When Will had gone below to help Fred, the panic had ceased, two dead men had been thrown overboard, and six of the crew had been set to work bailing in deadly earnest to keep ahead of the new leaks, there was tiely better off ere than if the launch had caught us somewhere close inshore Noe could sail safely northward, every puff of wind carrying us nearer to British water and safety, whereas unless they could h-pressure boiler, they would have to lie there for a week, or a month--die unless some one came in search of them Had we holed their boiler near the shore they would have been able to take to the land until they found canoes Good canoes, well manned, could have overhauled us hand over fist like terriers after a rat

It was fifteen schen tried tohis beefy carcass recklessly But by the time it had thinned down sufficiently to let hi He slit the sail, giving us half a night's work to , but hurt nobody