The next night we had to be all eyes and ears, and I at least did not sleep a wink, so absorbed was I in thinking what had better be done. I was determined to remain at Say at whatever cost, and it struck me that the best plan would be to lead a kind of aquatic life, enlarging the decks of our boats, so to speak, which really were rather too small for us and our goods. An island would be the thing for us. So we resolved that we would go and look for a suitable one the next day.
On the morning of the 8th, Abdu tried to bring about a reconciliation, but the poor devil only wasted his time and his breath. He was the only man at Say who in his heart of hearts had the least real sympathy for us, and he gave ample proof of this, for he never took any part in the intrigues against us, which were the worry of our lives for five months and a half. We never saw him again; he never came to beg for a present like the false and covetous marabouts who form the sham court of his chief. In a word, the slave was superior to his master.
At noon on the 8th, mentally calling down on Say all the maledictions she deserved for disappointing all our hopes, I gave the word of command to weigh anchor, and once more we were being carried along by the waters of the Niger.
OUR GUIDES’ CANOE.
THE ‘AUBE’ AT FORT ARCHINARD.
CHAPTER VII
STAY AT SAY
We soon came in sight, as we rounded a bend of the stream, of a thicket of trees on an island which seemed made on purpose for us.