CHAPTER VIIL NOTES BY THB WAY, The storm of the preceding evenii^ had now passed away, but the sky was still cloudy and the weather far from settled. It was the I9th of Aprîl, the time of the manka, or second pcriod of the rainy season, so that for the ncxt two or thrcc wceks the nights might be expected to be wet. On leavîng the banks of the Coanza the caravan pro- ceeded due cast. Soldicrs marched at the hcad and in the rear, as well as upon the flanks of the troop ; any escape of the prisoncrs, thcreforc, cven îf they had not been loaded with thcir fettcrs, would hâve been utterly impossible. They wcrc ail drivcn along without any attcmpt at order, the havildars using their whips unsparingly upon them whenever they showed signs of flaggîng. Some poor mothcrs could be scen carrying two infants, one on each arm, whîlst othcrs led by the hand naked children, whose fect were sorely eut by the rough ground over which they had trod. Ibn Hamîsh, the Arab who had intcrfered between Dick and the havildar, acted as commander to the caravan, and was hère, there, and cverywhere; not moved in the least by the sufTerings of the captives, but obliged to be attentive to the importunitics of the soldiers and porters, who were perpetually clamourîng for extra rations, or demandîng an immédiate hait Loud were the discussions that arose, and the uproar became positively deafening when the guarrclsome voices rose above the shricks of the slave^
