"This path," said Lisle, "will take us in the proper direction."
"I doubt if we shall ever get there," Hallett said. "I am feeling as hungry as a rat, already; and we have seen nothing to put between our lips since we started out, yesterday morning."
"It is a little rough," Lisle said cheerfully, "but we must hit upon a village, presently."
"I should not mind, if the path went on straight," Hallett said, "but it zigzags so much that we can never feel certain that we are going in the right direction."
"Well, you see," said Lisle, "we have passed two tracks to the left, since we struck into this road. I cannot help thinking that these must lead to villages, and that the one we are following is a sort of connecting link between them. I vote that we stop at the next one we come to."
"All right, old man! It seems to me that it will make no great difference which way we go. Indeed, so far as I can make out, by the glimpses we get of the sun, the path has turned a great deal, and is now going right back to that from which it started."
"I am afraid you are right, Hallett. However, there is one thing certain. The Ashantis don't cut paths through their forests without some reason, and I should not be surprised if we come to some large village, not far ahead."
After walking for another half hour, they found the bush getting thinner, and they could soon see light ahead. They went very cautiously now and, at last, stood at the end of a large clearing, in which stood an Ashanti village.
"Thank God there is something to eat ahead!" said Hallett. "There are lots of bananas growing round the village and, when it gets dark, we will get two big bunches. That should last us some time."
Utterly exhausted, they both lay down just inside the bush. Many villagers were moving about and, twice, native runners came in. The afternoon passed very slowly; but at length the sun set, and darkness fell quickly. They waited a couple of hours, to allow the village to get comparatively quiet; then they crept forward, and cut two great bunches of bananas from the first tree they came to and, returning to the forest, sat down and ate a hearty meal.