Chapter Twenty One.
A Baboon Hunt.
Towards morning Clarence broke out into a lavish perspiration during Ned’s watch. The moisture poured from him like rain for about half an hour, after which he sank into a more refreshing sleep.
Ned during this time kept him well rolled up in furs, after which he rubbed him dry and covered him lightly, giving him at the same time about a tablespoonful of brandy. When he woke in the morning he was clear-skinned, hungry, and better. After a hearty breakfast, they once more continued their journey.
They did not progress very fast, as they had to cut through the tangle, yet, to their joy, they found that they were ascending to loftier ground each step they took, also that the torrent kept beside them.
After about six hours of this steady upward marching, the undergrowth became thinner and the ground more solid. At places they had to climb over moss-covered rocks, which jutted from the earth. The tendrils, also, were not so thick, nor the tree-trunks so great in girth.
That night they pitched their camp at an elevation of over four hundred feet from where they had lain the night before. The forest was still dense, but there were greater spaces between the trunks.
“We are approaching the open!” cried Ned, exultantly. “Tomorrow, perhaps, we may see the sun.”