第110章

At dawn the old man himself appeared, and told us that he had, by using _i_ She _i_ 's dreaded name, though with some difficulty, succeeded in getting the necessary men and two guides to conduct us across the swamps, and that he urged us to start at once, at the same time announcing his intention of accompanying us so as to protect us against treachery.I was much touched by this act of kindness on the part of that wily old barbarian towards two utterly defenceless strangers.A threeor in his case, for he would have to return, sixdays' journey through those deadly swamps was no light undertaking for a man of his age, but he consented to do it cheerfully in order to promote our safety.It shows that even among those dreadful Amahaggerwho are certainly, with their gloom and their devilish and ferocious rites, by far the most terrible savages that I ever heard ofthere are people with kindly hearts.Of course self-interest may have had something to do with it.He may have thought that _i_ She _i_ would suddenly reappear and demand an account of us at his hands, but still, allowing for all deductions, it was a great deal more than we could expect under the circumstances, and Ican only say that I shall, for as long as I live, cherish a most affectionate remembrance of my nominal parent, old Billali.

Accordingly, after swallowing some food, we started in the litters, feeling, so far as our bodies went, wonderfully like our old selves after our long rest and sleep.I must leave the condition of our minds to the imagination.

Then came a terrible pull up the cliff.Sometimes the ascent was natural, more often it was a zigzag roadway cut, no doubt, in the first instance by the old inhabitants of Ko^r.The Amahagger say they drive their spare cattle over it once a year to pasture outside; all I know is that those cattle must be uncommonly active on their feet.Of course the litters were useless here, so we had to walk.

By midday, however, we reached the great flat top of that mighty wail of rock, and grand enough the view was from it, with the plain of Ko^r, in the centre of which we could clearly make out the pillared ruins of the Temple of Truth to the one side, and the boundless and melancholy marsh on the other.This wall of rock, which had no doubt once formed the lip of the crater, was about a mile and a half thick, and still covered with clinker.Nothing grew there, and the only thing to relieve our eyes were occasional pools of rain-water (for rain had lately fallen) wherever there was a little hollow.Over the flat crest of this mighty rampart we went, and then came the descent, which, if not so difficult a matter as the getting up, was still sufficiently break-neck, and took us till sunset.That night, however, we camped in safety upon the mighty slopes that roiled away to the marsh beneath.

On the following morning, about eleven o'clock, began our dreary journey across those awful seas of swamps which I have already described.

For three whole days, through stench and mire, and the all-prevailing flavor of fever, did our bearers struggle along, till at length we came to open, roiling ground, quite uncultivated and mostly treeless, but covered with game of all sorts, which lies beyond that most desolate, and without guides, utterly impracticable, district.And here on the following morning we bade farewell, not without some regret, to old Billali, who stroked his white beard and solemnly blessed us.